


Dragon Heart: Secrets of the Dragons

by Indurok



Category: Kung Fu Panda (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Post-Kung Fu Panda 2, Written Before Kung Fu Panda 3, non-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-28
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 37,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24743596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indurok/pseuds/Indurok
Summary: A dark power is at work here. The kung fu warriors find out that their new mission involves something completely dangerous and unexpected. Meanwhile, Tigress has been having nightmares about Po and eventually tells him. But something happens that causes her nightmare to come to life. The panda is rescued by a man he had thought to be dead. He helps Po to realize his true identity.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 10





	1. Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Another story from my Fanfiction account. It was originally published on April 26, 2013. Although it was completed after a while, I decided to rewrite it. So the rewritten first chapter was published on May 28, 2013. It was originally meant to be part of a series, a trilogy, but I had decided to cancel it after I was feeling disappointed with the sequel. So this story is gonna be just a one-parter. Bad writing skills aside, I was actually really proud of this story.
> 
> This story was dedicated to a writer called AnimationGirl, who on this site is known as RiaTheDreamer. This author was the one who had inspired me to create an account on Fanfiction.net and write my own stuff.
> 
>  **Additional Note** : I don't remember when each chapter was published on my Fanfiction account, so I will use the same date from 2013 on all chapters that I copy and paste directly and make minimal changes to, until I get to the final chapter, at least, which will have the more recent updated date. However, any chapters that have been changed entirely, or at least enough to cause drastic changes to the overall story, will use whichever current date I publish it to this site.

Tigress kicks a wolf hard in the stomach.

Tigress has no idea what she is doing in this forest, but she does remember a mission, but it doesn't turn out well. She has been ambushed by a pack of wolves. Not a very big one though. There are four lying on the ground now, unconscious.

Two more wolves come in to attack. Tigress does a roundhouse kick, knocking one wolf out. The other swings an ax at her, but she ducks out of the way and punches the wolf in the face and he falls to the ground. She eases out of her fighting stance, but her stance returns when she hears a voice.

"Hey, nice moves Tigress."

She lowers her stance when she realizes that Po is walking up to her with his hands behind his back. The tiger smiles and nods. "Thanks, Po."

The panda gives her a teasing smile, "Maybe you'll be more awesome than me one day."

Tigress lets out a light chuckle as she shakes her head. "Right."

Po then looks a little more serious. "Hey, uh, Tigress, there is something I have to tell you."

Then Tigress feels pain instantly shoot through her body, starting from her stomach.

She screams in agony and she automatically presses her paws against the pain, expecting it to be bleeding. She looks down and sees an open wound, gushing blood. She puts pressure on it, hoping that the blood will stop leaking. She panics when she sees that it doesn't seem to be working.

She looks at the panda. Po now has an evil smile on his face as he does a few fancy toss-and-catch tricks with a bloody dagger. Tigress's eyes widen, and she looks back up at the panda.

Her entire body feels weak. She tries to stand, but her legs keep failing. When she lands on her hands and knees she feels more pain surge through her. What is going on? Why would he do this?

He wouldn't. Not the panda she knows. She blinks a couple of times, screaming in her mind that this is nothing but a nightmare. But it feels too real.

"Po?" She winces in pain. Her voice comes out weak and strained. "What... what are you doing?"

Po ignores the question, and he walks closer to her, an evil laugh leaving his throat. "So much for the hardcore Master Tigress. If you really were, this probably wouldn't have happened."

Tigress gives him a weak angry snarl. Po holds up his right index finger.

"Ah, watch the temper. You certainly don't want me to kill you right now, do you? But of course, I don't want to have to do that... yet. I want you to see you suffer."

The tiger's eyes fill up with anger, trying to cover the sadness she really feels inside. She gives a low growl. What is happening? Why is Po acting like this? She can't let him kill her!

The evil panda continues talking. "Did you really think that you and I could ever actually be friends?" He looks into her eyes. "Who could possibly want to become friends with a monster like you?"

The word "monster" words strike Tigress as bad as the dagger. She rises to her feet and swings an arm to strike the panda with her paws, but she misses completely and falls back onto her knees, breathing heavily.

She looks at the panda with sadness in her eyes, but still tries to cover it with the anger that also burns inside her. Why would Po say such a horrible thing to her? He would never say that. He can't even so much as think that word. He has never actually said it before.

But this panda... this panda is different. This is not Po. It cannot be. What happened to him?

"Neither your master nor your friends care about you," he continues. "Ha. They don't love you. They never have and they never will."

Tigress's body shakes as she tries to force herself to hit the panda away from her, but her body will not allow her. Po smiles amused that tigress is still trying to show her former emotionless self.

The tiger squeezes her eyes shut, beginning to feel the hopelessness overwhelm her. Her eyes start to tear up, and she tries to talk but has a rather difficult time. But she gives Po a glare of fury as she manages to get two words out.

"Kill me."

The panda looks surprised to hear her say that. Then he gives another menacing grin and a short chuckle. "You just want me to end all the pain, is that it?" He pauses, waiting for Tigress to say something, but she stays silent. "Well, as you wish."

He takes several steps back before tossing the dagger in the air. He jumps up, spins, and kicks it. The dagger is flying directly toward the center of the tiger's chest, with the blade completely horizontal.

Tigress shuts her eyes tightly, hoping the dagger will just disappear before it hits her. But she knows that is impossible.

The dagger gets closer and closer until it is just about to impale her body.

  


Then she opens her eyes.

She sits up and finds herself back on her bed in her bedroom at the barracks of the Jade Palace. It is the middle of the night and everyone else is still sleeping, on top of their covers, too, because it is too warm to sleep under the blankets.

She breathes heavily and checks her stomach for a wound, but she finds nothing. She gives a sigh of relief. It was just a nightmare. Of course Po isn't evil.

But why now? She hasn't had nightmares since she was taught to fear nothing, and that was years ago, many years.

She feels herself trembling along with this other feeling that she had not felt in a long number of years.

Fear.

She is afraid of the nightmare. But why? Why is she afraid? There is nothing to worry about. However...

What if this nightmare had some kind of meaning? What is the point of this dream? Was it some kind of warning? Did it mean that Po is going to turn evil sometime later and kill her?

She shakes her head to get rid of the questions, but they continue to haunt her as she stands up and walks to her door. She opens it a little bit, just enough to see if the hallway is clear. There is nobody in sight. She leaves and closes her door behind her. Then she walks up to Po's door.

She just stands there. Not sure of what to do. Should she tell Po about the dream? She is frozen to the floor as she ponders this decision.

How will Po react to hearing this dream? Will he tell her to leave him alone and go back to bed?

The tiger immediately pushes the question aside. No. Po wouldn't do that. Her exhaustion must be confusing Po with Master Shifu.

The old master used to do that if she had woken up in fear. He would tell her that she should learn to face her fears alone. She would receive no comfort whatsoever.

But how will Po react? Will he try to comfort her? Tell her that it is only a dream, and there is absolutely nothing to worry about? Will he be scared by the dream and end up having it invade his dreams too? Or worse, will he think that the dream is a sign that he will become evil and leave the Valley of Peace and never return, just to protect her?

No. She can't tell him. She cannot lose him. Not again.

Her heart had crumbled when she thought that Shen had killed him, and surely it would be destroyed if she were to lose him again, permanently. She cares for the panda, very much. He has helped her much with her own problems, especially after Shen's defeat three weeks ago. She can't stand to have her friend die, but to have him leave the Valley and disappear without a trace...

She stops her thinking with a head shake. She gives a sigh as she turns around to head back to bed, she feels angry at herself for being such a coward. She could talk to Po about anything, so why not this? She reaches to open the door.

But something holds her back, a feeling inside her, telling her not to go, reminding her of the nightmare.

She is afraid she might have it again.

Then she decides to change course and head towards the exit.

  


She reaches the top of the hill where the peach tree is. She sits down and begins to meditate on her nightmare.

There must be a point to this. This must mean something. Or is it indeed just a dream?

Tigress tries to find the answer. Her mind becomes an explosion of questions. Questions she cannot answer, questions that cause her to ask opposite questions.

Maybe this dream is just a one-time thing. But then again, it might not be. Dreams like this were made to stick in someone's head for a long time, at least, until something happens.

Tigress sighs in disappointment. There is just simply no answer. She is stuck with this horrible dream.

And she can't do anything about it.


	2. Coward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when I used to begin and end each chapter with one-sentence paragraphs. I'm not exactly doing that with what I'm currently working on.

"Seriously? We get the whole day off of training?"

Po looks at Master Shifu as he cuts a few vegetables into his soup without even looking at it. His eyes are widened with shock, as a smile spreads across his face. The Furious Five look from Po to Shifu, who is standing in the doorway of the kitchen. The old master sighs.

"Yes, Po, that is what I just said."

"Awesome!" Po exclaims as his attention is no longer on his cooking.

Shifu just smiles. "Yes, you have all been working very hard since the defeat of Lord Shen, so I figure you all deserve a break. Feel free to do whatever you wish."

Po is about to say something, but Shifu interrupts him. "Unless it involves riding kitchen appliances down the Thousand Steps."

Po frowns and complains, "Oh, come on. It's not every day you get to go for a wok ride. Besides, in the end, it was really fun."

"You burned a hole through the bottom."

"So stairs and some kitchen appliances aren't meant to be scraped against each other. It was still fun."

Shifu sighs and turns to leave. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at the palace, meditating. Have a good day."

As the master leaves, Po starts putting soup into bowls. "Sweet! A whole day with no training. Ha, and you guys thought it was never gonna happen."

Then he walks to the table balancing four bowls on one arm, holding another bowl in his other paw, and balancing another one carefully on his head. Luckily, he had developed this ability during all the years of working with his dad.

"Soup's up." Po slides the bowls to the other warriors. The one his other paw he gave to Tigress. Then he takes the last one off of his head and puts it down in front of where he is sitting.

"And it's a good thing too," Monkey says. Then he looks at Tigress. "Especially for Tigress. You look beat."

Tigress has been staring at the table, lost in her thoughts, but sort of snaps out of it when Monkey talks to her.

"Hm? Oh, yeah." She looks back down at the table.

Po starts to feel a little concerned for her. "Uh, are you okay, Tigress?"

She looks up at the panda. She tries to keep her eyes open as wide as they can go. "What? Yeah, I'm fine. I just..." She blinks tiredly and then she rubs her eyes, making them able to open a little wider. "I just didn't get that much sleep last night, that's all."

"Why?"

She looks a little nervous as she looks at the rest of the Five, who are just staring back at her, waiting for an answer.

Then she remembers the nightmare, she sees Po stabbing her with the dagger and mocking her. She tries to hide the slight worry in her expression and gives him a false answer.

"I was just feeling sort of restless. You know, because of all the work we have been doing. You know, it gives me a lot of energy and all that."

She immediately regrets saying that, because she has never been a really big fan of lying. Plus she isn't often that good at it.

Hard work giving her energy? Why would she say that? Hard work always made her tired.

Po doesn't quite look convinced, but he nods. "Ah, okay." Then he starts eating his food in front of him, often giving worried glances at the tiger.

During his time here, Po has also developed some skill in reading emotions in people's faces, and he knows that Tigress' answer is not true.

He will try to ask her what is wrong later today. Tigress knows that he will. She is fully aware that Po knows she is having a problem. When Po wants to know what's wrong, he rarely ever gives up until he gets the answer he wants. He can often be as stubborn as Tigress can.

Tigress just stares at her food for a short moment. Then she picks up the chopsticks and dips them into the soup. She just stirs the soup with them, losing herself in her thoughts.

Should she tell Po? What should she do? She knows Po will understand, but his possible reactions won't let her tell him. She comes again to describe herself as one thing.

A coward.

She then picks up some of the noodles and begins eating, still thinking about how to tell him. She is going to do it, sometime after breakfast. And she will not hold back.

  


Tigress splashes her face with water.

It is nearly lunchtime and she still hasn't told him yet. She tried once after breakfast and she had held back. This is ridiculous. She has this urge to tell him, but when she tries to, the words just won't come out.

She remembers calling his name. But when she tried to tell him about her dream, all she said was, "So where are you doing today?" Po had told her that he was going to help his dad out at the shop, and then maybe go and buy a few things for a friend in the village.

Tigress growls at herself as she swings her paw at her reflection. Water flies into the air and she stands up and starts to pace back and forth on the shore of the pond she had found just outside the village. She stops and rubs her eyes, groaning in frustration. Then her paw slides down her face as she sighs.

Why can't she just say it? Why can't she at least say, "I had a nightmare"? That would probably have been enough for Po, except that he would want her to be more specific. He would want to know about the dream, and that wouldn't make her feel any more confident. Why can't she just do it? She knows why.

She keeps retreating.

How she hates being a coward.

"Tigress?"

Tigress quickly turns around, startle, and sees the panda pushing past the little bush that is blocking his way.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

Tigress remains silent, just staring at Po, trying to get rid of her anger in order to avoid scaring him away. But Po doesn't look a bit scared, but rather confused.

"Is there something wrong?"

Tigress sighs, her anger suddenly dissolving. She tries to force herself to say the words. It almost feels like the hardest thing in the world, telling someone about a dream. It may seem easy to Tigress, but truly, it's not.

"I—" She finds it hard to continue, but she manages to say, "I had a nightmare last night, Po."

Po widens his eyes, surprised at the fact that Tigress had a nightmare. "You did?"

Tigress looks at the ground in shame and nods.

"Well, why didn't you tell me before?" he asks. The tiger looks up and sees that concerned look in his eyes.

Tigress is touched that Po cares so much about her, but it also makes her feel like a child. She shrugs at Po's question. But Po can take a good guess. That is why she was a little angry today. She hated the fact that she was afraid to tell him the problem.

Po feels a little bit shocked at how he had just come up with a guess like that. But then again, he knows Tigress well enough to write a very long book about her.

"What was your dream about?"

Tigress opens her mouth, but no words come out. She looks at the ground and turns around to face the pond. She stares at her reflection in the water, back in her thoughts.

"Tigress?"

She snaps back to reality. She turns around. "Don't worry about it, Po. I can take care of this."

"I don't know, Tigress you seem kinda—"

"Po, don't worry about it," she says in a stern voice. "I don't need your help. This is something I have to deal with on my own. I can handle it." She fakes a reassuring smile.

Po is still not sure. "Are you sure? I would really like you to tell me."

Tigress looks annoyed at the panda's persistence. "Don't push it, Po."

Po holds up his hand defensively. "Okay, okay. Well, I'll just be, uh... you know... up the hill, making... lunch."

Tigress gives him an annoyed smirk, and Po leaves to head back to the steps. Tigress turns around to the pond and scowls at herself.

She failed again. And she was so close too. The truth was halfway out, and she just bailed.

How pathetic.


	3. A New Journey Begins

"Master Shifu?"

The red panda opens his eyes. He had been meditating in front of the little pool in the Hall of Warriors until he hears a voice calling his name. The old master stands up and turns away from the pool to face Zeng.

"Yes, Zeng, what is it?"

The goose is out of breath. He holds up one feather, telling him to wait a moment while he catches his breath. Then he clears his throat as he grabs a scroll from his sash.

"You have a message, Master Shifu." He holds out the scroll.

"Ah," Shifu says as he takes the scroll. "It must be from the new steward of Gongmen City about that tea recipe. It was actually quite delicious."

"I'm afraid it's not from Gongmen." He sees Shifu's smile fade into disappointment, and the goose continues. "Well, not originally from there. I was told to redirect it to you. It's from the Jade City."

Shifu's eyes widen. "The Jade City?" There is a small hint of excitement in his voice.

He had always wanted to go to the Jade City. He remembers the stories he had heard Master Oogway tell about it. He had always longed to go there for at least one visit. But he was always too busy. But now is his chance. Then he opens the scroll and starts to read it.

"Yes. Apparently it is a matter of extreme importance."

Shifu finishes reading the scroll and he looks confused at what it says. He turns to Zeng. "Did the steward have any clue to the cause of this problem when he had gotten this scroll?"

Zeng shakes his head. "I'm afraid not."

"Hm. Zeng, I want you to find the other masters. Some are in the village, others in the barracks. Tell them to come to the palace immediately."

"Yes, Master Shifu." The goose flies out the door while Master Shifu starts to think about this new mission.

  


"So, what's going down this time?" Po asks as he enters the Hall of Warriors and heads towards the Furious Five. Monkey shrugs at Po's question.

Shifu is pacing back and forth. Everyone waits curiously for him to talk.

"I apologize for interrupting your day off, but I have received a message from Master Cho-Pa, the ruler of the Jade City."

Po looks confused. "From who-ey, what-ey now?"

Shifu stops pacing and sighs, turning to look as Po as if he should know the answer.

Crane sighs and walks up to the panda. "Seriously, Po? Did you not read any of the scrolls?"

Po smiles nervously, fiddling with his fingers. "Well, I may have skipped one... or ten..." Then his smile turns into disappointment, "... or twenty... two."

Tigress half-smiles and shakes her head, looking at the ground.

Shifu sighs again and does his best to talk calmly. "Master Cho-Pa Fu was a student of Master Oogway's years before my time. He was the first to ever train in the Jade Palace. He later became the grandmaster of the Jade City temple. But I found in this scroll that he is now the ruler of the city."

"So the Jade City..." Po doesn't finish, hoping that Master Shifu will explain more.

"The Jade City is where Master Oogway came from. It is where he first taught kung fu after he had left the Sacred Pool of Tears. Then he returned here again and built the Jade Palace up here."

"So I guess that explains the name then, huh?"

Shifu nods. "Yes, Po, the Jade Palace was built in honor of the Jade City, shortly after he defeated Siwang, the Dragon of Death. But let's try to stay on the main topic, please. Master Cho-Pa has recently noticed some very strange things happening in the city."

"What sort of things?" Viper asks.

"The city council has noticed some highly unusual behavior from the citizens. They don't seem to act like themselves. They seem to be breaking a few laws in the city. The masters can't find the answer, so they wrote to us for assistance, hoping that we would fare better in our investigation. They will brief us more when we arrive. So we should leave as soon as we can."

"Uh, exactly how far is this place?" the giant panda asks.

"If we leave now, we should arrive by sometime tomorrow night. So we better prepare for the start of our journey."

Everyone nods and walks to the exit to go back to the barracks.

  


All of the masters leave the barracks and make their way down the steps. Then they make their way through the village. Po manages to say goodbye to his dad before leaving the village.

Soon, they end up in the bamboo forest. As they walk through, Master Shifu steps under a branch that sort of hangs sideways. Viper slithers after him. Then Monkey pushes it aside, followed by Tigress, who lets go, and the branch unexpectedly whips the panda in the stomach. He falls to the ground, giving a painful yelp.

Then later, they walk across a small bridge above a wide river. Po tries to walk carefully but ends up crashing through the boards, and he screams loudly as he starts to think he is going to flow down the river.

But then he looks down and sees that the water only goes up to his stomach, and that's only when he is sitting down. He chuckles nervously as he lifts the rope over him and just walks through the water.

By the time it gets dark, they find a village and Shifu directs them to head towards it. They ask for help from someone in the village, and the villager leads them to an inn.

  


Tigress wakes up with a shock as she sits up in her bed. She looks around the room she had chosen to sleep in. She squints when the sun shines in her eyes.

Well, at least she slept longer. Then she realizes that her whole body is trembling again. Will this stupid nightmare ever go away? If she had it twice she is sure that she will have it again.

She groans in frustration. She was sleeping so well. She was having a really great dream, and then it was just pushed aside by this horrible nightmare. Why did this have to happen?

This is going to haunt her forever.

But she is confused at this different feeling she had when she dreamed it compared to the good dream. When the nightmare came, something changed. It felt strange, different, like it was really happening. Why? It cannot be real. It is never going to happen.

But she has this very small, micro-sized feeling of doubt.

After a short while, she steps out of her room and walks down the hallway, trying to rid her mind of these troubling thoughts. As she is about to turn the corner to head to the stairs, Po nearly bumps into her, and he gives a startled yell, but not too loud. Tigress, however, didn't even blink.

"Good morning, Po."

"Wow, ha, you sure are quiet when you want to be." He chuckles.

"What are you doing, Po?" Tigress asks, sighing puts her hands on her hips.

Po looks nervous. "Well, I was just having some breakfast, you know. But then they... kicked me out for eating too much." Tigress smiles at that image. "Did you want me to bring you something?"

Tigress shakes her head. "No thanks, Po. I'll get it myself." She walks towards the stairs, but Po grabs her arm.

"Wait," he says, pulling her back.

The tiger looks at Po's paw gripping her arm and the panda jerks it back like he thinks she might break it. Then she sees a concerned look in his eyes as he is about to talk, but she knows what he is about to say. She looks annoyed at him. Why is he so worried? Why can't he just drop it?

"I'm fine, Po," she says in an irritated tone. "I don't need you worrying about me all the time. I can handle this myself."

"Well, I don't know, Tigress. Every time you look at me, your eyes tell me that you are expecting something to happen, like... I don't know, but it just, you know, worries me. It's like you're expecting something bad to happen to me or something. And I feel like you are trying to keep your distance from me or something, because now I know you are, like you think I'm going to do something bad to you. What is wrong? Is something going to happen?"

Then the panda practically begs with his next question. "Why can't you just tell me the nightmare?"

Tigress sighs, no longer annoyed. Her eyes go soft and she talks to him in a gentle voice, trying to make him understand. "Po, it's great that you care so much about me, and you really are helpful when you are needed, but... there are some things that you just can't help with. I need to deal with this myself. Do you understand?"

Po looks at the ground, disappointed. He nods. "Yeah, I guess." Then he walks back downstairs.

Tigress looks at him with regret. She wishes she could tell him the whole truth, but she can't. He is a part of the team and they need him. She can't lose her best friend again. She can't imagine living through another heartbreaking moment like that. She will have to find a way to deal with the nightmares on her own. She heads down the stairs too, to get something to eat.

If only she could tell him.


	4. Beyond The Gate

"Are we there yet, Master?"

Shifu looks at Mantis. "We will be there soon. We are not too far."

Shifu continues to lead the warriors to the Jade City. He notices Po's worried expression is directed at Tigress. Tigress is in front of him; staring straight ahead in the direction they are walking.

The red panda begins to wonder if the two possibly had another fight. Maybe that's what the panda is upset about. Tigress has been a bit out of sorts the past couple of days. But Shifu doesn't remember the last time Po had ever allowed a fight between Tigress and himself to let him down. Something else must be wrong.

The old master shakes his head. The problems between them are none of his business, unless they involve him in it, or if they get violent. But otherwise, he will let them work it out themselves, whatever it is.

A large gate finally comes into view. Shifu walks a little faster. The door is huge, at least three times bigger than the Jade Palace entrance. It is placed right in between two mountains. The door is jade green with golden dragons on it. It is guarded by two rhinos that don't exactly look very welcoming when they see the warriors. They are standing on each side of the door.

Shifu and his students walk closer, and the rhinos send him a threatening glare, which doesn't scare Shifu a bit. He just keeps walking. The rhinos stay on their guard, ready for anything.

Shifu stops and holds up a paw, letting the others know that he wants them to stay. He walks towards the rhino on his right. The guard gives him an unfriendly look. Then Shifu speaks.

"I am Grandmaster Shifu of the Jade Palace. I have brought my students with me. We are here to help investigate these strange behaviors."

The guard now looks relieved. "Oh, of course, we were told to expect you. This whole thing is getting out of control. It has been happening for weeks, and we didn't know any other way to figure this out. Many of the other villagers are starting to worry."

"Well, we will do whatever we can to get to the bottom of this."

"Great, 'cause all of this is making even me nervous. Master Cho-Pa has already sent a guide to take you to our master."

The guard looks at the other one and nods. They both grab the handles of the gate and pull it wide open.

Shifu and the others enter and are surprised at what they see. The entire city is surrounded by mountains, making it look as if the city is inside a giant bowl.

While there is still sunlight, they can see many different colors on the ground in the open fields. Obviously they are growing many different kinds of plants here. There are lots of trees around, growing everywhere. There is actually a forest to the right side of the city, leading out, between the mountains.

On the opposite side of the city is a huge lake. There is a large river that dumps water into it from between two mountains. In the center of the city, there is an obelisk made entirely out of jade. It looks like it is probably fifty feet tall.

The entrance to the city gives the warriors the most beautiful view of the sunset. Against the light, the masters can see kites flying in the air. Some look like dragons, others like many other kinds of animals. There are even some that look like the yin and yang symbol.

"This way."

They turn their attention to a clouded leopard. "I will take you to Master Cho-Pa."

He gestures in the direction he wants them to go. They follow him down a path that leads down to the city grounds. The leopard points to a building high up on the top of a cliff.

"That's the Jade City temple. The council members have prepared your quarters for you. Master Cho-Pa has been talking about wanting to meet you for quite some time."

Shifu looks a little surprised at that. Shifu had wanted to meet with Cho-Pa for a long count of years. And he is finally going to do it. A smile grows on his face.

  


Then eventually they reach the end of the path and walk through a residential area of the city. There are houses, much neater than those at the Valley of Peace. There is a lot of artwork hanging on the walls. On a row of houses, there are portraits of people wearing blue robes, who Shifu believes to be the masters of the council.

Tigress looks around at this one area where there are a bunch of children playing. She smiles at some of the feline kids chasing and pouncing at each other and pulling each other's ears.

"Zan!"

Tigress sees another clouded leopard walking towards him with a smaller one in her arms. "Where are you going?"

The warriors' guide stops and turns to the woman. "Look, I'm sorry, I know I said I'd put him to bed tonight, but these guys arrived a little later than we had thought. So I have to get them to the temple, you know."

"Well, alright," the leopard guide's wife says.

The small leopard looks at Tigress. He has his finger in his mouth while he stares at the interesting looking feline. Tigress smiles at him.

"Well, hello, there. What's your name?"

The cute little cub just smiles and giggles, showing off his gums. Tigress giggles too. Shifu and the others smile at the little baby leopard cub.

The mother smiles at the tiger. "His name is Bo. He's only 11 days old."

The tiger's smile grows wider. "Hey, Bo, I'm Tigress."

Bo smiles and takes his finger out of his mouth as he giggles and reaches up to her. Tigress looks confused when he does this. Tigress looks at his mom.

"He wants you to pick him up," The mother explains.

"Oh," the tiger says silently while nodding.

Then Tigress starts to look nervous, but the mother gives her an encouraging look. The tiger looks back at Shifu and her friends. Their smiles tell her that they are willing to wait for her. Shifu nods.

Tigress slowly puts her arms under the mother's and Bo's mom slides her arms out and Tigress ends up with the baby lying in her arms. Her nervousness fades when she sees Bo's smiling face. The tiger smiles back.

"Hey, how you doing?" she says, unable to resist talking in a high-pitched voice.

She lifts her right paw and lowers it towards Bo, allowing him to play with her finger. Bo grabs her finger and examines it, apparently liking the interesting color. He smiles up at Tigress and makes a bunch of babbling sounds, making the tiger grin automatically.

Then Tigress feels this strange warm feeling inside her chest, like melting of the heart. This feeling is foreign to her, but it feels good, and she doesn't want it to go away.

Then Bo's happy expression turns to curiosity when he looks at the stripes on the tiger's arm. He puts his finger on one of her stripes and slides it along the line. Tigress watches him curiously.

Then the baby just babbles something to himself. Then he slaps his hand down, hitting air. Then he repeatedly lifts his arms up and swings them down, hitting himself, smiling, and cooing while he does it.

Tigress looks at him, puzzled. Why is he doing that? Then she remembers that babies move their arms and legs all the time, but never actually know what they are doing. Bo is just doing what babies do. She almost bursts into laughter when he tries to fit his fist into his mouth.

She rubs the top of the baby's head. "You are so cute."

Then she gently hands Bo back to his mom.

Zan walks back towards the stairs that lead up the cliff. "Come on. We can't keep the masters waiting." Then he heads up the stairs. The others follow right behind. Tigress looks back at Bo.

"Goodbye."


	5. A Warm Greeting

They finally reach the Jade City temple.

Po is panting heavily with exhaustion. It had taken an hour to reach the top. That is a lot longer than it takes to get to the Jade Palace from the village.

The walls of the temple are jade green, and the shingles for the roof are a dark green color. The whole building was much larger than the Jade Palace. It goes up at least three floors. The front doors are the same color as the main city gate, jade green with golden dragons. The doors are not exactly as big as those at the Jade Palace, but they are still fairly large.

Tigress can't help but think that the building is a little too green.

Then two rhino guards open the doors. The warriors take a good look around the interior. The main hallway looks a little like the hall of warriors, but with more pillars and no artifacts. But it is decorated with few busts of some masters that used to be here but not anymore. There is a large one of master Oogway right next to the door they are headed towards. The walls are not entirely a jade color. There are many other colors, like red, blue, etc.

They walk towards another large door. The leopard pushes it open and the warriors see a long flight of stairs along the wall. Po groans in disappointment.

  


"And he started tearing up the barracks again," an old large feline says. "This situation seems to be getting worse, and I do not like it."

"Nobody does, Master Kahn. I know you are very worried about this, and so am I, but we have searched for answers for too long just to find nothing." The speaker is another feline, a snow leopard, Master Cho-Pa.

He is wearing a black robe with gold dragons on it and all the other masters are wearing the blue robes. The master also wears a dark grey cape. He also has a golden staff with jade jewels in the top part of it. He made a few adjustments to his chair so he could attach the staff to it. He isn't dressed much like a ruler usually is, but he doesn't care. He is also very old. He looks like he could just be a hundred.

He is sitting in the largest chair at a giant round table, which is in the center of a large dimly lit room. Across the room from the entrance is a bunch of stairs leading up to a door that leads to Master Cho-Pa's quarters.

The old master looks up at the very tall hybrid feline.

Yes. Master Kahn is a liger.

His mother was a Bengal tiger from India, and his father was a lion raised in the same place. When someone had come after his parents they had to take him as far away as they could and ended up in China. It took days before they could find some other felines to raise him.

He was always mocked for his size as he grew up because he is the only liger in China that they know of, at least. But everyone was surprised when he had become a Kung Fu Master, even more when he became a member of the Jade City council. No one bothered to say such things anymore.

"Well, if all we found is nothing, what makes you think that the grandmaster of the Jade Palace will be able to?" Kahn asks impatiently.

"I assure you he will find the cause of this. I do have doubts, but I do not doubt that many of his abilities exceed my own."

He doesn't notice the door open behind him. "But if he can't figure it out, then maybe that Dragon War—" Then he is interrupted by the clouded leopard.

"Excuse me, Master Cho-Pa."

The snow leopard looks behind the back of his chair. "Ah, Zan." He stands up and takes a few limping steps to stand beside the chair. "Have they arrived?"

"Yes, Master. I will bring them in now." Then he leaves the room.

"Good, good. Trust me, fellas, they can help."

Then Master Shifu and his students enter the room. All the other masters stand up from their seats. Shifu looks at the old master and bows. "Master Cho-Pa."

The old leopard limps forward, holding onto the chair, and grabbing his staff, using it as support. He bows back. "Well, welcome to the Jade City."

Shifu smiles. "Thank you, Master."

He walks towards Cho-Pa, his students following right behind him. He stops in front of the old man. Cho-Pa needs his staff to walk. He had a fight with someone a long time ago, and he had his right leg broken. He has been unable to stand on that leg without his staff, due to the loss of feeling in it, plus a bit of unsteadiness.

"So, Master Shifu and his students, I presume?" he asks, looking at all of the warriors.

Shifu nods. "Yes, Master Cho-Pa. These are the Furious Five, and the Dragon Warrior." He points at his students with his staff.

Cho-Pa takes a good look at the panda. He smiles as he says, "Looks like your Dragon Warrior is not to be judged by his appearance."

Shifu smiles back. "No, Master, he is not."

"I sense that many of his skills and abilities go beyond even yours, Master Shifu."

Po jumps in this time. "Except the one where I still can't see my toes."

Cho-Pa laughs. "Well, I'm talking about combat skills. It is certainly amazing how you can use your flaws to your own advantage."

Po is confused. "How exactly—"

"I sense things in people, and I have also had visions."

He looks at Tigress. She is just staring at him. She looks closely at his eyes. She recognizes those gold-colored eyes. His facial features also look familiar. That grin, it's so similar to... No... It can't be... could it?

"Is there something wrong, young Master?" he asks as he steps in front of her.

Tigress blinks and shakes her head. "Uh, no, Master Cho-Pa. It's just that, uh..."

"I remind you of someone?"

Her eyes widen. Okay, he must be related to... him. She just shrugs. Then the old master turns to the council members. "You are dismissed for the night."

Then all of the council members walk towards the door. When Master Kahn walks past the warriors, Po can see a dagger at his side. A golden dagger, which was made at least 200 years ago. He had found it during his first battle 60 years ago.

As far as everyone knows, the only power it really has is to shoot lightning at enemies. Master Kahn learned how to use its power, and he used it responsibly. He doesn't use it much anymore, but he keeps it around just in case. He only uses it when most desperately needed.

The dagger is entirely made of gold, including the blade. The handle had been molded to look like a dragon. The blade is inside its golden sheath, which is attached to his belt. Po realizes who this liger is, and he fills with excitement.

"No way! Master Kahn? And his dagger?!"

The old master smiles at the excited Dragon Warrior. "Well, I didn't think people still remembered me for that anymore."

"Well, duh, who would forget the Master of the Golden Dagger?"

The liger shrugs. "Goodnight, Dragon Warrior."

The door closes and everything is silent.

"Awesome," Po says, breaking the silence.

"Come." Everyone turns to the old leopard.

"Let's talk."


	6. Relations

Tea is poured into Cho-Pa's cup.

"Thank you, Zan." Cho-Pa takes the cup off the table. His chair is turned sideways so that he can talk to the other warriors. They have gathered chairs around the master.

"Now, go home to your wife. You can take the day off tomorrow. We're not really going to be doing much."

Zan smiles and bows to the master and turns to leave.

When the door closes, Cho-Pa turns his attention to Shifu and the others. "Now, I know what you are thinking, Master Tigress. You know who I am related to."

Po and the rest of the Five look at her, confused. The snow leopard continues. "You should all be familiar with my grandson, the one your Dragon warrior defeated."

Everyone, except for Tigress, looks shocked, especially Po. Master Cho-Pa is the grandfather of Tai Lung. The panda can actually see the resemblance and feels a bit of guilt. He tries to say something but the old leopard talks.

"Now, don't you apologize to me, Dragon Warrior. I would have done the same thing had I known earlier about what he had done."

Shifu also shows guilt on his face. He was responsible for what Tai Lung had done. He made him believe that he was the Dragon Warrior. He had encouraged him to train hard for the Dragon Scroll. Tai Lung wanted it so much that when Oogway didn't choose him, he terrorized the Valley of Peace. It was Shifu's fault.

"Don't blame yourself, Shifu, you never meant for any of this to happen. So you made a completely unintentional mistake or two. You never knew what would happen. Anyway, I had tried to track him down myself. But I could not find him. But it doesn't matter now. He is gone, and the line of Cho-Pa is ended."

Everyone starts to feel bad when they hear that fact. He must now be the only surviving member of his family. Cho-Pa breaks the silence.

"But I am rather relieved, Dragon Warrior, about what you did. I would not hesitate to kill him myself if ever absolutely necessary. I wish more than ever that I had raised him myself. But I couldn't. And now, with no one of my blood to take my place when I die, Master Kahn will have to take over for me."

"But what about a son or daughter?" Po asks.

"I—" He pauses before telling anything. He sighs and looks down. "Well, they're not really around anymore.

"Someone had snuck into their house in the middle of the night to kill them. I entered the house to save them, but I was too late. I knew that he would kill my grandson next, most likely because I was the grandmaster of the temple and had the most power. He wanted me to give it up to him. But I had refused. I tried to stop him, and we fought. Unfortunately, he broke my leg, and I lost. Weakened and unarmed, he left without killing me or my grandson. I knew the boy was in danger, so I protected him until I healed. I left him with you, Shifu. I figured I should leave the boy in the care of someone who would keep him safe. So I couldn't take care of him, couldn't keep him safe from harm. So, you understand why I had to do what I did, Master Shifu."

Shifu nods.

"When he broke my leg, I learned that it will never fully heal. I cannot walk on my right leg without my staff, because I have lost all feeling in my lower leg, and I keep failing to tell if it has touched the ground or not. And I can't seem to balance that well on it."

"What if you had to get somewhere quickly?" Viper asks.

"Oh, I can still run, when I need to. I am just a little off balance when I do."

"So, like, how old are you?" the panda asks.

Cho-Pa raises an eyebrow at Po. "Beg your pardon?"

"Po!" Shifu looks at Po, angry that the panda is asking such an inappropriate question.

"No, no, Shifu, it's fine. Let him ask." The leopard gestures for the panda to continue.

"Well, it's just that Tai Lung would have to have been at least in his twenties or thirties when he tried to get the Dragon Scroll, right? And then he went to jail for twenty years. So he would have been in his forties or fifties when he... well... passed on. So that would make you what, a hundred?" Po looks confused.

Cho-Pa laughs at the panda's guess. "Well, almost."

"Wow," Po says.

"Well, anyway, where are my manners? I should show you to your room." Cho-Pa stands up and grabs his staff. He starts walking to the door. "And by 'room' I mean you will all be sharing one."

"What? Why?" Mantis asks. The warriors follow the old master.

"Well, with what has been happening to the people has happened to a student here and he tore up the other rooms in the barracks. One of them is still standing. But don't worry. The rooms are really quite large. You can all still sleep a comfortable distance from each other. And Shifu gets the bed by the way." He chuckles. "I will clarify more on the situation in the morning. Then the investigation will begin."

They all reach the door, and Cho-Pa reaches to open it, but doesn't do it quite yet.

"I certainly hope you will enjoy your stay. Our city carries many wonderful pieces of art."

Then he opens one of the doors and everyone leaves.


	7. Late Night Confessions

_"Po? What... what are you doing?"_

_"So much for the hardcore Master Tigress."_

_"Who could possibly want to become friends with a monster like you?"_

_"They don't love you. They never have and they never will."_

_"Kill me."_

_"As you wish."_

  


Tigress wakes up breathing heavily sitting up on her bedroll. She had that nightmare again. When will it end? She so desperately wants this dream to just disappear.

She rests her head in her shaking paws. The dream is just getting worse; each time there is something different and more menacing about evil Po that makes her shiver.

She stands up, resisting the urge to hit something. Her fear grows as she thinks about what to do about these dreams. She finally comes to the decision she has been trying to avoid these past few nights.

She has to tell Po.

She starts to worry again about what Po will do when she tells him. She doesn't want him to leave. But not telling him isn't really helping her either.

She quietly walks over to the sleeping panda. A smile appears on his face, and he licks his lips. He's probably dreaming about food again. Typical.

She kneels next to Po, and whispers to him.

"Po." He doesn't respond, so she whispers slightly louder. "Po."

He doesn't wake up. Then she reaches her paw towards his arm to shake him awake, and just when she touches the tip of his fur, he sits up quickly, making Tigress jump.

"I didn't eat them, honest!" He nearly yells.

Then he covers his mouth and remembers where he is. They both look around at the rest of the sleeping warriors. Some of them open their eyes but close them again and they fall back asleep.

"Sorry," the panda says, looking at Tigress. Tigress's face shows fear and anxiety. "Are you alright, Tigress?"

She hesitates before she finally tells him, "I think I'd like that talk now."

  


Po and Tigress are outside the barracks and walk to the edge of the cliff. They both sit down with their legs hanging over the edge. They stay silent for a while.

"So..." Po says, and he waits for Tigress to say something. But she remains silent, so he continues. "So what do you want to talk about?"

He already knows, but he wants to make sure that Tigress is comfortable with telling him about her dream. He doesn't want to rush her, but he is dying to find out what is wrong.

Tigress looks at him, feeling uncomfortable. She still isn't sure if she should tell him, but she knows that she has to. If Po is good at anything, it's bringing comfort. But she is still unsure, but she tells him nonetheless.

She hesitates to speak. "Well, I just... It-it's about... my nightmare."

The panda looks at her with concern. "Okay." He waits for her to continue, but she doesn't know where to begin. Po starts for her. "What was it about?"

She looks up at the panda's green eyes. She always liked to see that nonjudgmental look he shows. That is what had made her able to tell him things. The other warriors just wouldn't understand. Quite possibly some of them would crack a joke. Po enjoys making jokes, but he knows when the best time to say them is.

She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Po just waits patiently as she builds up the courage to talk.

"It was... about you."

Po nods, wanting her to continue. "You were... Well, I was in this forest and I had taken down these wolves. And you came along and..." She looks away and down at the city.

"And...?" Po says, urging her to keep talking.

"And... you stabbed me."

Po looks shocked. "I stabbed you? You mean, like, with a...?" He makes a stabbing motion with one hand.

Tigress nods. "Then you said these things to me," the tiger says, looking away, unable to look into Po's eyes. She doesn't want to see his reaction.

"You said that if I really was hardcore, I wouldn't have gotten stabbed. Then you said that you and I could never actually be friends because nobody would ever want to be friends with a monster like me."

Po is even more shocked. He called her... the "M" word? Po had never even said that word in his life, except when he made one of his action figures call his pretend villain a monster. But he never considered her a monster. She was just misunderstood, different, a tiger with claws and fangs, but that didn't make her a monster. It just made her who she was, who she still is: Tigress.

"You also said that Shifu and the others don't care about me, that they don't love me, and they never will."

Po's sad face almost matches Tigress'. How could she have had this nightmare? It doesn't make sense how she can just have a nightmare where Po is evil. He would never say those things to her. Po, Shifu, and the Furious Five do indeed care about her. They are her only friends. They mean the world to her, and she to them.

"And then you..." Tigress takes a deep breath, still trying to avoid meeting the panda's gaze. "Then you finished me off."

She finally looks up at Po to see that worried look on his face, the looks she was always afraid she would see. She instantly regrets telling him what she just said. She sighs.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Po asks.

She looks away. "I... I was afraid that you would leave the Valley of Peace and never come back... in order to protect me."

Po thinks about this for a second. She is right. He would have left the Valley if it would protect her and everyone else. He could never imagine her getting hurt. But it brings him great pain to think about himself killing Tigress. He would do anything to keep her safe. But Po has one problem; what is he supposed to say to her now?

"Well, I... uh... well..."

Tigress fills with hopelessness when she doesn't hear a disagreement. She doesn't want him to leave. The Furious Five need him. The Valley needs him.

She needs him.

He had changed who she was. He always makes her happy. She laughs at almost everything he does that she used to hate at first. But now it is all going to go away.

She then looks angry at the panda. "That's what I thought." She stands up. "You would leave, no matter what. And there would be no way to get you to stay, right?"

"Tigress, it's a dream. It probably means nothing," Po says, standing up.

"Yeah, well that's not what you think, though, is it, Po?"

The panda freezes. "Well..."

Tigress groans and walks back to the barracks. Po follows.

"You know, Po, you always have a thing for taking things more seriously than necessary. I don't think that my dream is of an actual event waiting to happen."

"But any dream like the one you had sounds like it has to have some sort of meaning. I mean, people have been acting like criminals all over this city."

Tigress stops, with a look of shock on her face. He is absolutely right. Then maybe this nightmare is going to happen. Whatever is controlling these people might control him. But that means that he is going to leave. She turns to face Po. His anger fades when he sees her worried face.

"You're right, Po. What if this does happen?"

"Now you see why I think I should leave."

Tigress shakes her head. "No!" she says sternly. "Po, you can't leave. We need you here with us. If you just leave us like this, then—"

"Then I will be protecting China," he finishes.

No. If he leaves, he will be tearing Tigress apart. She will never be happy again. No one will ever show her the same kindness that he shows her. She likes the happy feeling she gets when she is around him. If he leaves, he will take that away from her. That is the only reason she wants him to stay, because of how he had helped her to feel.

She enjoys the emotions he has helped her to feel. He made her laugh for the first time. She had never felt so alive. Leaving would be like killing her, only worse, she would suffer. And to make things worse, she would go right back to creating that emotional barrier again.

"No! Po, just—" She then rubs her forehead, sighing. "Po, please just stay. Just think about it overnight before you do anything. Okay?"

Po wants to leave right now, but seeing Tigress worry so much about him, how can he just take off right away? He nods. "Okay."

Then he walks back to the barracks. Tigress follows. Will the Dragon Warrior leave his post and head out on his own? How can she convince him to stay? She never should have told him about the dream.

Now she is going to lose her best friend.


	8. Catfight

"I don't know, Master. I still have some serious doubts about these guys."

Master Cho-Pa stands at his bedroom window inside the palace. He had been talking to Master Kahn, who is sitting on a chair on the other side of the room. The two oldest members of the council are talking about the Valley warriors' involvement in this investigation. Still looking outside, Cho-Pa responds enthusiastically, "Nonsense, they are the best warriors in china. They will find the solution to this problem,"

He turns around to face the other master, but he only receives a look of disbelief from him.

"I don't see how these guys are going to be any more successful than us. How can they find the source?"

"Because they have the Dragon Warrior with them."

"So?"

"So he has the power to be able to find it."

Kahn scoffs. "And exactly what kind of power does he have, if any?"

Cho-Pa stares at the other master, annoyed. "Power that has likely been passed down from Master Oogway before he died."

"Not even Master Oogway would have been able to find the problem."

"No!" Cho-Pa snaps back angrily. "Oogway would have found it in a snap. I could never sense this kind of stuff the way he could."

"Then why hasn't the panda found out yet?"

"He still has yet to learn how to use this power, and he will. It may take some time, but he will, and he will find out what is causing this."

"Time is something that we do not have, Cho-Pa. There is only so much of it before this thing does something worse. It may advance to murder."

"That will not happen, Kahn. They will solve this and this city will be safe once again."

Kahn laughs in doubt of these words. "You have got to be kidding me. Don't you get it?" He stands up and faces the old man, looking down at him. "This will not solve the problem. If they are the best warriors in China, then having them here is only going to make things worse for everyone else. If they get taken over, they could kill everyone."

Cho-Pa gets angry again. He tries to talk with a steady voice. "Master Kahn, the Dragon Warrior, and his friends will end this. They will not get controlled."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Because the Dragon Warrior's power will prevent that from happening."

Kahn turns around and walks towards the wall. "You are an old fool, Cho-Pa, to believe that power can stop pretty much everything." He stops and turns to face the master again. "Your stupid power certainly didn't stop your daughter from getting killed. It didn't bring her back to life. It didn't even put that killer to justice."

Cho-Pa's eyes burn with anger. "Do not speak to me in such a manner!" He walks towards Kahn, and they both glare angrily at each other. "I could not stop that because my power was not meant to do so! Now I need that Dragon Warrior because his power is more useful to me than you realize!"

Kahn looks surprised. "Useful to you?"

Cho-Pa growls, hating himself for saying that, and he turns away from the liger. "Never mind. Just leave."

"No, what are you talking about?" Kahn demands.

Cho-Pa turns around, yelling, "That is none of your concern, Kahn!"

Master Kahn ignores Cho-Pa. "If we solve this problem, what are you going to do? Keep the panda for your own personal use? Are you going to use him for your own selfish acts?!"

The leopard's anger boils. He snarls loudly at the liger.

"You think you can have whatever you want, Cho-Pa! You always do! But you cannot have everything! You shouldn't have even become the ruler of this city! You should have stayed that lowly peasant you started out as all those years ago!"

"Watch your words, Kahn. They just might be the last ones you will ever say!" Cho-Pa yells.

"You have always been selfish! That is why many people had died from all the previous attacks! You are a failure at your job, Cho-Pa, and I'm going to make sure that you get what you really deserve!"

He has crossed the line this time, and Cho-Pa roars and leaps at him. He hits Kahn in the head with his staff as he flips over him. He lands behind him and then Kahn tries to attack, but he misses. Cho-Pa jumps up again and kicks the liger in the face, nearly knocking him down. For a smaller feline, the old man is very strong.

Then Kahn snarls and tries to attack again. Cho-Pa just smiles and points his staff towards him. Then Kahn floats in midair. Cho-Pa points it to the ground, and Kahn lands in that spot. He is unable to move his limbs and body.

Cho-Pa walks to him, using his staff for walking. Even with the staff no longer pointed at the liger, its power is still doing its work. His head can move, though. Then Cho-Pa stands on top of him. Kahn snaps his jaws at the leopard several times before giving up. Then Cho-Pa kneels down on top of the liger's chest.

Cho-Pa whispers menacingly to Kahn. "Now listen to me, Kahn, you are forgetting your place. You have been a master for fifty years and you still aren't showing me any respect."

Kahn growls, but Cho-Pa ignores him. The snow leopard's voice becomes spine-chilling, and the look on his face puts Kahn slightly on edge.

"I am warning you, if you speak out of line again, I promise you, you are going to regret even coming to this city. If you dare to confront me in such a way again, you will wish that you only had four broken limbs."

Kahn still struggles to get up and push the old master off. But it is no use.

"Now... am I finally understood, or should I teach you another lesson?"

Cho-Pa waits for an answer but receives a growl from the liger. Then Kahn's teeth fade and he calms down, but he still glares angrily at Cho-Pa.

"I understand," Kahn says flatly.

Then Cho-Pa jumps off him and the liger is able to stand up. When he is up, he stands in front of the master, eyes revealing hatred for the old leopard.

Cho-Pa gives him a deathly glare. "Now, you will show me the proper respect, or our next talk will be very quick and very messy. Got it?"

Facial expression still unchanged, Kahn says, "Yeah."

"And there's the door." Cho-Pa points to the door.

Kahn makes a small growl before he leaves. The door slams shut behind him.

Cho-Pa watches the door for a while until he decides to let his anger out here and now. He yells loudly and turns around, kicking a chair into a wall. The chair smashes into many tiny pieces. He breathes heavily, from the anger he feels, still not satisfied. Then he walks to the nearest wall and punches it as hard as he can. There is a small crack in it and he hits it again with his other paw.

He pants again and looks at his paws. His knuckles are now bruised, which he can see past his fur. Then he grabs his staff and walks to the bedroom. He gives an angry grunt as he tosses the curtain aside and enters. When he reaches the bed, he freezes and stares at it. Then he gives another yell and he slams his fists down on top of the bed. The bedstead breaks and the mattress fall to the ground.

Then he lays down on it. He stares at the ceiling for a while, trying to focus on the one thing that can calm him down:

Complete silence.


	9. Danger

A panda opens his eyes.

"No!"

Just a few moments later, the same panda is running through the village. He runs towards another panda and stops right in front of him.

"Gang, can you do me a favor, please?" He asks.

His name is Hun Yao, and he is the leader of this panda village. He is wearing a green cloak over his brown clothes.

"Um... sure, I guess. Where are you off to in such a hurry, and so early in the morning?" Gang asks as he stops tilling his garden and he leans on the garden hoe.

"I have to leave, and I need you to watch over the village for me."

He tries to leave, but the other panda grabs his shoulder and stops him. "Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why?"

"Because I had another vision, China is in danger, or it will be in a few days. I can't allow that to happen. If he dies, the whole planet is doomed."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's Siwang!" the leader says looking very worried.

Gang is shocked. "What? The Dragon of Death? But I thought that he was..."

"No, he's not! I just learned the truth about what Oogway did. He couldn't kill him because he is not a dragon. Only a dragon can kill another. Siwang is still alive, and he is still living at the Jade City. My son has something that Siwang needs to fully return to his true form. There is only one person who can defeat Siwang, and I know who. I have to get to him now." He runs again. Gang tries to grab him again but he is too late.

"Yao, wait!" Yao turns around and Gang continues. "You are not well; you need to rest."

"I know, but I have to do this! Don't you understand? If I don't go now, China is doomed. This is the only way. I know who can defeat Siwang. Look, I can stay here and keep arguing with you. I have to get to the Jade City. Goodbye." Then he runs again.

"Wait, Yao! It'll take weeks to get there! You'll never make it!" Gang calls but Yao ignores him.

He watches as the panda leaves the village. He can only hope that Yao will be alright.

  


Shifu and his students are in the barracks kitchen eating breakfast. Po had insisted on making breakfast, mainly so that Cho-Pa could try it. Soon, Cho-Pa enters the kitchen. But he stops at the doorway when he smells something. He sniffs and realizes that it is Po's food. His eyes widen after a few sniffs.

"What is that?"

Everyone turns their attention to the old master. He walks to the table. "I have never smelled anything that good?"

Po chuckles nervously. "Oh, it's just my dad's recipe for his famous noodle soup. You wanna try?"

"Absolutely." Cho-Pa smiles excitedly.

He immediately sits down, laying his staff on the ground. Po puts a bowl right in front of him. Then he puts a pair of chopsticks next to the bowl. Cho-Pa picks them up and takes another sniff of the soup. The awesome smell of the soup makes Cho-Pa shiver with pleasure, for he had never had anything that smelled this good before.

He grabs some noodles out of the soup and puts them into his mouth. While getting the dangling bits of noodles into his mouth, his eyes widen and he smiles. Then he chews for a while and swallows. He gives a sigh of satisfaction. He almost looks like he is going to faint.

"This is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted, especially when combined with the taste of the soup." He licks some of the soup off his lips.

"I figured you would love it." Po puts a bowl of dumplings on the table in front of the master. "Wait 'til you try these."

The master is so excited to try more of the panda's food. He picks up a dumpling with his chopsticks. He bites half of it, and his smile grows as he chews. Then he swallows.

"Just when I was so sure I found the perfect cook, you come along." He finishes the dumpling. Po smiles at him. He looks down at Shifu. The master just looks weirdly at Cho-Pa.

Shifu walks closer to the old master. "You said you were going to tell us more about the problem here, Master."

Cho-Pa looks at Shifu with a mouthful of noodles. He holds up one finger, telling him to wait. Then he swallows.

"Of course." He licks his lips. "Apparently, something—I'm not entirely sure what—is making the citizens act very strangely."

"How so?" Shifu asks.

Cho-Pa continues. "Well, they've been causing a lot of trouble—stealing things, burning down houses, destroying precious temple artifacts, and so on. I have had my best masters try to investigate the cause of these people's behaviors. But so far we have gained nothing. Then I thought of you guys. I figured your search might get better results."

He points to Po with his chopsticks. "But you, Dragon Warrior, I expect to be able to rid the city of this thing once we find it." He picks up more noodles and eats.

Po scratches his neck, confused. "Um, okay, but, uh... how exactly am I supposed to, like, get rid of something that you can't even find, especially if you don't even know what it looks like? Don't you have, like, any clue at all as to what this thing is?"

Cho-Pa shakes his head. "None. We have searched everywhere, but there isn't even the slightest hint. Well, actually, when people are taken over by... it, their eyes seem to glow red. It seems that when they are under control, they will do whatever they are forced to by it, and they don't even realize that they are doing it."

"Hang on, so what is this, like, mind control or something?" the panda asks.

Before Cho-Pa takes another bite of noodles, he answers Po's question. "Yeah, you could say that." Then he eats.

Po and Tigress exchange worried looks. Could this be what Tigress's dream meant? Could this be what will happen to Po? Could he actually turn evil and kill Tigress, and maybe the rest of his friends along with her? So what are they to do? How will they find this thing before that happens?

"Is something wrong?" Cho-Pa asks.

Po nods. "Oh, no, no, we're good. It's just that, you know, I'm not exactly into the whole... you know, mind-controlling thing. 'Cause I'm certainly not looking forward to, uh, you know, doing anything bad and all that."

"Oh, you needn't worry, Dragon Warrior. You have a power you don't even know you have. You will be perfectly safe unless it tries to get someone else to kill you."

He and Po both shrug. Cho-Pa takes in another mouthful of noodles. Po and Tigress look at each other, relieved. It looks like the nightmare isn't going to happen, and Po isn't going to leave. Tigress smiles widely. Cho-Pa finishes chewing and swallows his food.

"Okay, so, we will begin the investigation this afternoon." He picks up the bowl and looks at Po. "I sure wouldn't mind having you as my personal cook." Then he drinks some of the soup.

"Oh, yeah, well, no thank you. Sorry."

Cho-Pa puts down the bowl and shrugs, smiling at the panda.

"Just thought I'd give it a shot."


	10. Too Young To Die

"No, that's pretty much it."

Monkey sighs with disappointment. "Okay, well, thanks anyway." The goose he had talked to walks away further into the city. Mantis jumps onto his shoulder.

"Man, this is boring," the little insect complains. "We've talked to everybody here, and it's always the same answer. They see red eyes, robberies, blah blah blah. But there is nothing different."

Shifu is just finishing a talk with someone. "Thank you, sir. Goodbye." The goat leaves and Master Shifu turns around and sighs as he walks towards Cho-Pa. "Excuse me, Master Cho-Pa."

The old master chuckles. "Shifu, please, why don't you just call me Fu?"

"I'd... prefer not to. If it's alright with you, Master, I would like to go back to the temple and... get rid of this headache." He walks towards the path rubbing his temples.

Cho-Pa smiles. "If you wish." Then he chuckles a little bit. Po has been standing beside him for quite some time.

"So, how long have you been the ruler of this city?" the panda asks.

"Oh, I'd say about 22 years. Everything was fine for a while." Then Cho-Pa's smile turns into an angry frown, which is directed at himself. "But then many criminal infestations occurred, and I had proven myself too weak to stop them. Many of the masters believe that I should resign from my position. No one wanted me to do it more than Master Kahn did."

They both just look around the city in silence. Then Po breaks the silence. "How are we supposed to find this thing? What kind of tactic are we going with here?"

The master shrugs. "I honestly don't know. I don't know if someone is causing this or if it's something a little more... spiritual."

Po looks nervous. The snow leopard continues. "But whatever it is, you may be the only one who can stop it."

Anxious to say no more about this conversation, Po says, "So, you think we could probably just call it a day and head back up?"

Cho-Pa sighs. "Sure. You just head on up. I'll be right up there."

The panda smiles and heads up the path. Cho-Pa stays behind and then he calls out to the Furious Five.

"Master Shifu's students, you can all return to the temple now. I think you have done enough."

"I'd say we've done too much." Mantis jumps off of Monkey's shoulder and heads towards the path.

Monkey, looking quite tired, looks up at Crane. "Would you mind giving us a lift?"

Crane gives an annoyed sigh. "Fine."

Mantis calls out, "Wait for me!" Then he jumps onto Crane's back and hangs onto his neck with his little claw things.

Viper looks at Tigress, who appears distracted. "Tigress, you coming?"

The tiger looks at Viper. "Hm? Oh, yeah, well, you guys just go. I'll head up there eventually."

"Okay." Viper wonders what Tigress is looking at, but she shrugs and wraps the end of her tail around Crane's ankle. Then he lifts off the ground.

Tigress turns around again and makes her way towards a house. There is a portrait hanging on it that seems familiar, so she decides to take a closer look. As she gets closer, the picture becomes clearer. She stops walking and her eyes widen as she sees who the portrait is of.

She sees a female tiger wearing one of those blue robes the masters wear. The tiger looks almost exactly like her, but with a slightly narrow head shape. Tigress cannot deny that her facial features match her own, especially her eyes, which are the exact same color, the same shade of orange.

Tigress is utterly shocked. Could this possibly be... her mother?

Was Tigress' mother a master of the temple and a member of the city council? Questions instantly pop into Tigress's head. If her mother was a master here, then why isn't she here now? Where is she? Is she still alive?

Then she remembers the questions she wants answered the most. Why did she leave Tigress at the orphanage? Was it for the same reason as Cho-Pa? Was she in danger and wanted to protect her daughter? Or is it possible that she was too busy to take care of her? What if...

What if she didn't want her?

Suddenly, Tigress hears a loud and distant bloodcurdling shriek. Not wasting one second, the tiger darts off in the direction of the screaming.

It takes no less than a minute before Tigress finally arrives at a house surrounded by people wondering what is going on. Tigress enters the house. She looks around and sees that everything in the house is damaged; all the furniture, decorations, and dishes were all lying in pieces.

"I-I killed them!" a voice says. "I didn't mean to."

Tigress turns her head to see the wife of Zan sobbing into the shoulder of a goose. Tigress feels saddened too as she looks at the blood on the leopard's hands and clothes.

What is she talking about? Killed who?

Tigress walks further into the house. Where are Zan and Bo? Shouldn't they be here? Or are they outside? Tigress starts to worry. Then she walks towards an open curtain. She looks inside and a look of horror covers her face.

Zan. He is lying on his bed, covered in blood, which leaks out of the cuts and stab wounds all over his body. There is blood spatter all over the walls. She walks closer to the clouded leopard to check for a pulse.

Nothing. Tears threaten to leak out of her eyes but she holds them back. She ignores the blood on her hands as she tries to keep herself together. His wife did this. But Tigress knows that it isn't her fault. She had no control over this action.

Tigress suddenly remembers something else.

Bo.

Fear fills her as she rushes out of the room and she moves a curtain to see inside another room. Then her heart stops, and she freezes.

A small leopard is lying on the ground in front of a doctor. The doctor has tears in his eyes as he looks up at the tiger, startled by her entrance.

Tigress is unable to move as she stares in horror at the motionless baby on the floor. There is no blood, so he must have been strangled to death. The doctor looks at her with eyes full of sorrow, and he leaves the room, squeezing past the tiger.

Tigress feels anger grow inside her. How she wishes to yell at the doctor, to hurt him, to threaten him, just to give him the urge to continue.

But she can't. It's not his fault. When a doctor can't save a life, he cannot change that.

Tigress feels pain in her chest as she keeps her eyes locked on Bo. How could he die now? He wasn't even two weeks old. How could this... thing, this heartless monster, force the mother to kill him?

She feels tears beginning flood her eyes and blur her vision. She tries not to let them fall. She starts to breathe heavily as she tries not to sob. She feels her legs start to buckle and she falls to her knees. She wants to hold him one more time, but her paws just hover over his lifeless body. Tears start to stream down her face, and she chokes back a sob.

Then she sees another paw carefully place itself under his head and another under his body. Tigress looks up to see Bo's mother on her knees, staring at her with red eyes. Her face is wet with tears. She looks at Bo as she lifts him up gently and puts him into Tigress' arms.

Tigress's heart aches more as she touches his cute little face.

"You are so cute," she manages to whisper.

Then she brings him to her shoulder and hugs him, rubbing her cheek against his. More tears leak from her eyes and her bottom lip shakes. She struggles to avoid letting out a sob; not an easy task but somehow, she manages. The mother however just suddenly starts up again. She covers her mouth as she sobs loudly.

Tigress looks at her, and her heart now fills with panic. What can she do? How can she comfort this brokenhearted mother? How can you comfort a mother who killed her own child at the control of something else?

The mother looks behind her at the bloody knife she had used to chop vegetables, and later to kill her husband. She had put it down here before strangling her son, and crushing his throat.

That weapon is starting to look awfully helpful to her.

Yes. It could help to end all of her sufferings. Quick and easy, right?

Then she finally makes her decision.

She stands up and walks towards the weapon. Tigress watches her, wondering what she is looking at. The mother picks up the knife. Tigress watches in shock.

The mother examines the knife as she considers if she should do it. Tigress knows what she plans to do, but she can't let her end her life because of this.

As the mother continues to gaze at the knife, an orange paw grabs her hand. She sees Tigress standing next to her. The mother makes no struggle and allows Tigress to take the knife away.

Tigress puts the weapon down on the table next to her. She shakes her head; her face looking like her sadness is going to explode out of her. She gently puts the baby into his crib. She covers him with the blankets. Even though he is not alive, it just feels like the right thing to do for a child his age. The mother sobs loudly again as she leans into Tigress, who is startled by this. But Tigress hugs her tightly.

After a few moments, when the clouded leopard stops crying, she looks Tigress in the eye and says with a shaky voice, "Thank you for being here." She tries to smile, but she can't.

Tigress is still feeling the urge to cry. She just stares at her, unable to reply. Then she nods and stands up and leaves the room. She then starts running. She runs out of the house and past all the people around the house.

She nearly bumps into Master Kahn. He looks at her, and then back at the house, worried what about what he will see. He heads to the door.

  


Tigress finds herself deep in the forest, still on the city grounds. She eventually trips and falls to the ground. She stands back up and screams loudly, letting all of her emotions finally escape.

Then she starts punching the trees, giving a grunt of anger and grief with each hit. Then eventually her voice gives one more loud scream as she hits a tree with both paws.

The whole forest seems to shake as she realizes that she had just broken the tree's trunk. It is a very wide tree and she actually cracked its trunk right through. The tree tips over and falls, causing a few other trees to fall.

Unable to stand anymore, Tigress collapses and lies on her back. She lets out many loud sobs, for she is unable to hold it in. She then lies on her side and curls up into a ball shape.

She no longer struggles to stop crying. This is the first time she has ever cried, as far as she can remember. She had been close when she thought Po was dead, but she held it back. She had been holding it in for over twenty years.

Now she's finally letting herself feel it.


	11. Duel For Power

"I warned you, Master Cho-Pa."

Cho-Pa looks at the liger sitting across the table from him in the council chamber. Kahn glares angrily at the snow leopard.

The liger continues. "I told you that having Shifu and his students here would make things worse. Whatever has been causing the previous crimes has already started killing."

Cho-Pa sighs, rubbing his forehead. "I know that Kahn. I'm sorry that I doubted you, but this just happened much sooner than I had expected."

Kahn's anger rises. "Sooner than you expected? Cho-Pa, you don't seem to understand that the best time to take over someone else's mind, especially if that someone is powerful, is as soon as possible. What could you possibly expect this thing to wait for?"

Cho-Pa talks back in a stronger tone. "Calm down, Kahn. We need to find a way to get this thing to reveal itself."

Kahn groans. "Come on! You're just going to keep doing this?!"

"We have to. It's the only way to end it."

"So, you're just going to sacrifice more and more innocent lives until there is not a single living thing here, is that right? Well, that's a great plan! I can't wait for it to take place."

Cho-Pa stands up from his seat and stares back at the liger. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yeah, we need to evacuate the city. Get everyone out, and we need to start as soon as possible."

"That's not going to work. If we leave, we will be bringing that thing with us. If that happens, it is going to spread across China. We can keep it contained here."

"And what good is that going to do anybody? If we stay here, we are all going to die!"

"We are going to die. If we leave, the whole country is going to die. The entire planet is gonna die. We cannot let it get used to traveling, so we must stay here. Then it won't go anywhere."

Kahn is outraged. "So, we're just going to let this continue?!"

"If it will save the planet, we just might have to."

"I will not just stay here and watch people get murdered, Cho-Pa!"

"The murders aren't important. We have to—"

Kahn slams both of his fists on the table as he stands up and screams loudly, scaring the other masters. "Two people are dead, Cho-Pa! And one of them is an _infant_! What could possibly be more important than that?!"

There is nothing but dead silence in the room. None of the masters wish to cause any further argument. Kahn's angry expression changes to sadness. Cho-Pa stares at him, completely calm.

"What's more important is that we find this thing and destroy it."

Fury burns inside Kahn, and he sends a low growl to Cho-Pa. "You fool! Do you not see what you are doing?! You are not trying to save the city. You're just trying to get everybody killed. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were the very thing we were looking for."

Then he starts walking around the table behind each master's chair.

"You never should have been chosen as the ruler. Master Won Chang was just another old fool, always making the wrong decisions. Well, this time he went too far. He made a terrible choice. He should have known better than to trust someone who couldn't follow a simple order, let alone give one."

He stops walking and just stands right next to the old snow leopard. Cho-Pa stares menacingly back at him, not at all feeling intimidated.

"You are all dismissed for the night." Cho-Pa hasn't taken his eyes off the liger.

The other masters stand up and walk towards the exit. An elephant holds the door open for everyone else. When all the other masters leave, the elephant runs out, closing the door.

The two masters are still glaring angrily at each other.

Cho-Pa snarls at Kahn. "You remember what I have said about crossing the line, Kahn, don't do it."

"I'm sorry, Cho-Pa, but I will not let this happen. I cannot allow you to just stand around and do nothing while other people die. I think that you should leave your position and give it to me, as it was meant to be given to."

Cho-Pa growls at Kahn. "I will not give it up! You weren't meant to rule because I was chosen!"

"And look at how well you're doing at your job," Kahn says sarcastically.

Cho-Pa jumps at him, knocking him down. He is standing on Kahn's chest again, crouched down, staring at him darkly in the face.

"You do not want to go there, Kahn. You are heading towards a very long time in prison."

Then Kahn punches Cho-Pa in the face. The old master flies off of him and lands in the middle of the table. There is a large bruise on his left cheek, which can be seen through his fur. He stands up, but mostly on his left leg, realizing that he doesn't have his staff. So he just uses his right leg for balance. It is lying on the floor farther away from the table. Kahn jumps up and lands on the table. He walks towards his old master and stops a few meters away from him.

"If you won't do anything about this, then you don't belong here. If taking you out is the only way to make you stop, then I'll do it."

Kahn gets into a fighting stance. Cho-Pa doesn't move, for he does not wish to fall over.

The old leopard laughs. "You are actually considering fighting me? Ha! You have got to be kidding."

"But that is how it must be."

Cho-Pa gives an amused smile. "Must it? You won't stand a chance. You know that. This is a foolish act."

"Says the fool who just lost his magic staff," Kahn replies.

Cho-Pa looks at his staff and smiles as he looks back at the other master. "I don't even need it for this. But if you think you can defeat me, then bring it."

Then Kahn charges at Cho-Pa. Cho-Pa thrusts his paws forward and hits the liger in the stomach. The liger flies back and nearly slides off the table.

Kahn looks up to see Cho-Pa looking back at him with a confident smile. He isn't going to make this easy for Master Kahn. This battle is going to be difficult to win.

Kahn stands up and charges again and swings his paw. Cho-Pa ducks and swings a paw at him. Kahn blocks the attack. They both continue to attack and block each other until eventually some sort of force emanates from the old leopard and seems as if air pushes the liger back a bit. Then Cho-Pa lifts his paws up as some kind of energy seems to build up in his paws, and he swings them down, hitting the table. This causes Kahn to fly farther back and hit his back on a pillar.

Then he sees Cho-Pa flying at him in the air with his left leg straightened out. But Kahn moves aside and Cho-Pa hits the pillar, leaving a crack in it. Then he limps towards the other master and then he starts attacking again. He jumps up and swings his right leg at Kahn's face. Then he starts punching him. Kahn manages to block some of the blows.

Then Kahn grabs Cho-Pa and throws him towards a wall. The leopard smacks really hard into the wall. Then Kahn comes at him to punch him. He lands the punch on Cho-Pa's right cheek. The old master falls onto his back. But then he spins himself on his hands while upside-down, and he ends up on his feet. Then Kahn attacks Cho-Pa again but hits only air. He swings his paws a few more times, still missing. Then Cho-Pa jumps into the air to attack him. Kahn grabs him by the tail and swings him at a pillar.

Cho-Pa has been prepared for something like this. His feet touch the pillar and he pushes himself off and sends himself flying at the liger. Kahn looks surprised as he tries to move. Kahn hits him and they both hit the wall and crash right through it. They are now in a training room. They continue their brawl.

This time the fight gets more intense as Kahn's claws appear and he growls again. He jumps at the old master and swings his claws at him, the hatred in his eyes burning like hellfire, with the full intent of killing Cho-Pa.

"Give it up, old man!"

He swings a clawed paw at Cho-Pa, but the old master jumps back, dodging the attack.

"You are weak!"

He swings his other paw. Cho-Pa ducks and Kahn hits a glass vase, and it smashes against a wall.

"You fear combat! You cower from it!"

He then claws at him again, but the master jumps into the air, causing Kahn to slice open the training dummy. Sand starts to leak out. Kahn continues his rampage.

"You do not deserve your title! And you will leave it!"

He then swings his claws again, and Cho-Pa jumps to the side, towards the bamboo sticks used for sparring. They are small so they were for the much smaller students.

"Alive..."

He then swings his claws and misses Cho-Pa, but he hits the bamboo sticks. They fly behind Cho-Pa. He continues to step back.

"...or _dead_!"

Kahn swings his paw back, ready to go for another blow. Cho-Pa steps on one of the bamboo sticks and almost loses his footing, and he is unable to dodge the liger's claws. He gets hit on the right side of his face. The force of the hit causes him to stumble back and fall to the ground. Kahn stops trying to attack him.

"Then I will reign over the city, and I will save everyone."

Cho-Pa groans in pain as he covers his right eye with one paw. Blood is running down his face and his neck. He turns around to face the liger. He growls at him as he stands back up, trying to keep his balance with his unfeeling leg.

"So, what's your choice, Cho-Pa?" Kahn asks in a threatening voice.

The leopard glares angrily at him for a while. Then he lifts his right arm, holding it straight out, keeping his eye closed as he does this. Kahn is confused as to what Cho-Pa is doing. Then the staff flies into the leopard's hand, and Kahn becomes worried. The old leopard holds the staff towards him.

Suddenly, Kahn finds himself floating in the air. Cho-Pa pushes the staff forward and Kahn flies into a wall in the council chamber. As Cho-Pa walks into the room he makes the other feline crash into many other walls, including the ceiling and floor. Cho-Pa looks amused at this, and soon he brings Kahn back down to the ground in front of him. Kahn is on his back, coughing from the impacts that had knocked the air out of him.

Cho-Pa rips off a piece of his cape and ties it around his head so it is covering his eye. He ignores his still bleeding cheek. Then he walks to the liger. He crouches down and talks calmly.

"I told you not to mess with me. You understand the laws perfectly well. You need to get that anger sorted out because if you ever try anything like that again, you will be put to death. Do you understand?"

Kahn pants heavily. He stands up, with difficulty; with the multiple times he flew into the walls, he had eventually injured his leg. He manages to keep himself up, glaring daggers at his master while giving a small nod.

"Yes, Master. I am sorry."

Maybe he has taken things too far. But he just wants to protect the citizens. He knows that the penalty for trying to kill his own master is death. But it still felt wrong, that he was just letting this all happen.

"Then I will let you go this time, but you will let me run things my way. We stay here and try to figure this thing out."

Kahn feels angry again and opens his mouth to protest, but he closes it again. There is no point in arguing with his master any further. His staff could do all kinds of magic stuff, and he doesn't want to face all of that again. But he still wishes to go with his own plan, to evacuate the Jade City, to keep them safe from this place. He snarls quietly, but then he bows to his master, and Cho-Pa returns the bow.

Then Kahn turns around, giving his master one last spine-chilling glare, and limps through the hole in the wall.


	12. Depression

"Tigress?"

Tigress hears Po's voice call her name as he knocks on the door of the room she is in. They had finished repairing a couple of rooms but there is still some more to do.

Tigress has been lying in bed all night and throughout the morning. She has just been to upset to do anything. She hasn't even eaten since she found out about Bo. She had left her dinner on the table, and she didn't even arrive for breakfast. Now it is about lunchtime.

The others have been very worried about her. She hasn't even spoken a word since last night. Every time Po tried to comfort her, she kept rejecting him.

But Po would not give up. She starts to feel like the panda cares a little too much.

Po knocks again. "Tigress?"

Tigress remains silent, tears filling her eyes. Can't he take a hint? She obviously doesn't want his help. Why can't he just leave her alone? Why can't anybody leave her alone?

She cannot take her mind off that poor little baby clouded leopard. He wasn't even two weeks old. Why did he have to die now?

She keeps seeing his cute little smile and how he had tried to put his fist in his mouth. This memory makes more tears come to her eyes.

If only she had been there. She could have saved Bo and his dad.

No. She would most likely get killed too. Whatever controlled the mother is too strong for Tigress to fight against.

Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of her door opening, but she keeps her eyes on the ceiling. Po sticks his head inside the room.

"Tigress, I... brought you something to eat," he says in a gentle and concerned tone. He opens the door and walks in, carrying a bowl of soup. "Do you want any?"

Po stands in the doorway, waiting for the depressed tiger to answer. She says nothing. Her bottom lip quivers as she tries to keep herself from crying. She blinks several times to stop the tears from coming out. The panda waits patiently, expecting her to say something eventually.

"No thanks, Po." Her voice comes out shaky. She sniffles.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Tigress is already getting annoyed.

"Because it's not a good idea to skip meals, you know."

She looks at the panda with a threatening look in her eyes. "I'm not hungry, Po."

She knows that is not at all true. Of course she is hungry. She is starving. But she doesn't feel like eating.

She rolls over onto her side, her back turned to Po, not wanting him to see the tears that are coming from her eyes.

"Tigress," Po steps closer to Tigress. "Look, I'm just as upset about Bo as you are, but you can't—"

"You weren't there, Po! You didn't see him!" Tigress starts feeling the strong urge to cry again, but she resists.

Po just stands there staring sadly at her. She is right. She has a good reason to be more upset than Po, Shifu, and the rest of the Five. She had been down in the city. She had instantly fallen in love with the cute little guy. She saw him dead and held his lifeless body.

"Hey, if you want to talk, I—"

"There is nothing to talk about, Po." Tigress's anger grows.

"Tigress, please? I really want to help you, but if you keep shutting us out, you'll—"

Tigress growls as she sits up, looks at Po, and yells angrily. "Can't you take a hint, Po? I don't want your help! I don't want anyone's help! I just want to be left alone! Is that too much to ask?!"

Po stammers, shocked, "Well, I-I-I just—"

"Po," she interrupts, standing up from her bed and slowly walking towards Po, with a despair-riddled glare. He stares back at her, almost feeling the emotions she was emanating.

"I am sick of you always checking up on me. I do not want your soup. I just want you out of my room. So leave me alone!"

Then he falls on his butt, nearly spilling the soup. He continues to look her in the eye. This was the first time he had ever heard her yell at him this way. Po feels the sadness start to fill him.

Po stands up quickly and still tries to talk. "Tigress, I—"

Tigress swiftly steps forward and growls, causing Po to flinch. The bowl flies out of his hand and shatters, spilling soup across the wooden floor.

"Get. Out."

Po looks closely at Tigress's eyes and sees a tear roll down her face. He looks down at the ground helplessly.

"Okay, Tigress. If that's what you want, then it's probably what you need." He steps past Tigress and heads towards the door. Then he stops and looks back at her.

"You know that we're your friends, Tigress. I thought you trusted us enough to let us help you in times like this, instead of moping, which I've never known you to do before. But if you honestly think we can't help you through this, just know that things won't get better for you this way. I would highly suggest you reconsider."

She gets a quick glimpse of tears in his eyes as he looks away and sighs. He stares at the ground as he leaves, closing the door behind him.

Tigress's anger melts into regret. She didn't mean to yell at him. She was just upset about Bo. He just tried to give her soup and talk, and she just blew up in his face. That was unacceptable behavior on her part. And those tears in Po's eyes, what did he think of her now after that outburst? Was he crying because of her yelling at him? She never yelled like _that_ before, so that would be somewhat understandable. Or could it be he thought she was breaking off their friendship? She couldn't possibly. Friendship wasn't exactly something she was overly knowledgable about. Surely he understood that. Oh, how she wishes to punch herself in the face really hard.

Tigress backs up until her back hits the wall and she slides down to a sitting position. She continues to think. She and Po had formed a very strong friendship together. They always got along, no matter what happened, no matter how many mistakes the panda made, or how many she made herself. They were best friends, until now. Tigress's depression may have just cost her friendships.

Will Po ever forgive her? She wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't. Then she scowls at herself for being so stupid. Her entire body is flooded with the deepest regret, as a stinging feeling fills her chest. She lays her head in her arms as a million thoughts flow through her brain.

Then all her thoughts stop. She thought she heard something, a knock. She remains silent for a while until she hears the knock again.

"Yes?" She asks, a slight shakiness to her voice.

"Good afternoon, Master Tigress," a familiar elderly voice responded. "Apologies if I am disturbing you, but I wish to speak with you. May I come in?"

Tigress clears her throat and wipes away the newly formed tears from her eyes. "I'll be right there, Master Cho-Pa."

She opens the door and is greeted by the old smiling leopard. She notices the bruises and the bandage on his face. Without even saying a word, Tigress's facial expression asked him what had happened to him. He placed his paw over his bandage.

"This is just a... sparring accident. It's fine." His face then showed a look of concern as he looked at Tigress's face. "Is there something troubling you?

Tigress tries to maintain a stoic expression. "No, Master. I'm fine."

He looks at her in disbelief. "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Well, your eyes are beet-red, my dear."

Tigress looks at him surprised. Why didn't she think of that? She loses her expression and replaces it with her previously sad face. She lets out a sigh.

"I've just been... making mistakes."

The old man nods sadly. "I see. I thought you were still upset about the child."

"I was--I am. But I fear I have just made a terrible mistake."

"Could it have something to do with your friend out there? I heard loud voices and was worried."

Tigress feels somewhat embarrassed. "You heard what happened?"

"No, no. I heard yelling, but I couldn't catch any words."

They both remain silent for a short while. Cho-Pa slowly walks towards the bed, stepping over the soup on the ground. He doesn't question what led to the mess. He already knew from the noise. He just sits down on one end of the bed and stares at the broken bowl. Then he looks at Tigress with a solemn expression.

"Master Tigress, there's something we need to discuss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original version of this chapter on Fanfiction.net, Tigress gets so angry that she threatens Po. I felt that she wouldn't actually go that far, so I changed and removed a few lines here and there.
> 
> Oh, and just to clarify, Po's tears were because of Tigress being in this state, nothing to do with what she said.


	13. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the changes I've made to the previous chapter, I ended up rewriting pretty much the entirety of this chapter, which was difficult, because I didn't properly read the previous chapters before posting them. So it was difficult to remember what exactly goes on.

One of the entrance doors of the temple opens.

Shifu and the others are just heading outside to go to the training hall for the afternoon. Then they see Po enter the temple with a sad look on his face.

"Po?" Viper says. "Po, what's wrong? Is Tigress alright?"

She slithers closer to the panda, and the others follow. Po looks at Viper and sighs, looking down at the ground.

"I just hate seeing her like this. I tried to talk to her, but she won't hear any of it. I thought that if she would open up to anyone, it would at least be to me."

"Oh," Viper says sadly. "Don't worry, Po. Let's just give her some time. I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

"I hope so. I've never seen her so upset."

Viper wraps the end of her tail around Po's wrist in reassurance. "It'll be fine. As long as she knows we'll always be there for her, she'll get through this.

Po smiles. "I'm sure she will. I just hope she's not angry with me."

Viper released her hold of Po's hand. "Angry?"

"Well, I may have been more persistent than I should have been to get her to talk. I haven't been yelled at quite like that before."

"Oh, well, I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"Yeah, I know. I'm not upset about that. But I'm just afraid of pushing her too far, you know? I'm sure everything's fine."

Viper nods. Silence fills the room for a moment. Mantis lets out a cough. Crane clears his throat. Po looks around awkwardly.

"You know what? I think I'm just... gonna go... and... take a nap." Po backs away towards the door. "So... yeah. See ya." He dashes out the door.

Awkwardly, everyone else starts walking their separate ways.

  


Po's head fills with thoughts as he walks. Thoughts about Tigress, and the past recent events. Just what is going on around here? With what's been happening, it seems like there is something unnatural at work.

Po enters the barracks and sees the hallway is a mess leading from the entrance to Tigress's room. Her doors have been completely ripped off. Po becomes worried. It looks like a fight had transpired. But why would someone attack Tigress? Or was it the other way around?

Po dashes to entrance to her room and takes a fighting stance to knock out whatever intruder was in the room, if any. But instead, there was Cho-Pa laying on the floor with several bruises, and multiple sets of scratches on his face.

"Master Cho-Pa?"

Cho-Pa looks up to see the Dragon Warrior. He has a terrified look on his face. What happened was he here when the fight happened? Or a better question: Did he have a fight with Tigress?

He stands up. "Ah, Dragon Warrior, have you seen Tigress?" He responds in a strangely calm manner.

Po raises an eyebrow. "Um... not since I left here just recently."

Cho-Pa sighs in disappointment. He sits down on the bed, rubbing his forehead. "We were just talking, and... I must have said something wrong because she just got angry and lashed out."

Po looks at him suspiciously. "What did you say to her to make her do something like that?"

The leopard pauses to think. "It's... kind of personal. But actually, I don't know if that's what started it. She started looking pretty angry early on. I wonder..."

"Wonder what?"

Cho-Pa comes to a realization. "I wonder if it's that dark magic at work again."

"You mean, like with that one lady? No way." Po waves his hand in disbelief. "That can't really happen to her, right? I mean, she's the strongest of the Furious Five."

Cho-Pa quickly stands up. "I'm afraid strength has nothing against this evil power we've been searching for."

Po hesitates to speak. There's no way that Tigress could possibly be controlled by some dumb magic. She would never kill anyone, would she? Even if she was possessed?

"We have to find her, Master Po, before she causes more damage!" He grabs Po's arm and rushes to the exit. "Come on!"

"Wait!" Po shouts, trying to avoid being dragged along the ground. "Where are we gonna go?"

"I know what we need in order to find her. Just follow me." They both head up the path towards the temple.

  


They eventually reach Cho-Pa's personal chambers. He opens the door quick as a flash and drags Po inside. "There is something I need to get before I can deal with Tigress."

"Okay," Po said, panting. "But do you think... we could take a... little bit of... a breather? Wait, 'I'? You mean 'we', right?"

Cho-Pa didn't answer. He just searched through his books for something and whispering to himself. "Ugh, I can never remember which one it is."

He then grabs a book and then pulls it. Then there is a clunking sound. He then pulls on the shelf, and the entire thing opens like a door, revealing a staircase going upwards. Po looks into the darkness with his jaw dropped.

"Whoa. A secret passage behind a bookcase? This is so awesome!" Po squealed in excitement. "It's also kinda cliche, but still pretty awesome."

The snow leopard stepped into the tunnel with a lantern in his hand. "Let's go."

He begins his ascent with the continuously excited panda following right behind. He gestures to Po, who proceeds to pull the shelf back into place behind them. The stairs spiral up for a couple of stories before it reaches a door at the top. Cho-pa digs around in his shirt and pulls out a small key. He inserts it into the keyhole and slowly pushes the door open. He and the panda step inside the room. He places the lantern onto a nearby table. And Po continues to giggle.

"I can't believe you have your own secret room. Was this always here, or did you build it yourself?"

The old leopard walks across the room. "My old master built this area a long time ago. I played up here a lot when I was a kid."

"Wow." Po then looks confused. "But why are we here? You said you needed to get something, but this room is totally empty."

Po was not prepared for what happened next as he looked around the room. A strong force of energy pushed Po back and he crashed into the wall. The impact knocked him unconscious and he hit the floor with a heavy "thud".

  


The striped feline opens her eyes. She groans as she lifts her face out of the dirt. She slowly pushes herself up with her arms. She groans at her aching body, and she sits on her knees. She looks around to figure out where she is. As far as she can tell, she's somewhere deep in the woods. It doesn't look like she's anywhere near the city.

That's because she's not.

What is she doing here? She then remembers the recent events from before. Cho-Pa. Something happened when she was talking to him. An unfamiliar voice in her head told her to attack him. And she did. However, at the same time, 'she' didn't. She saw her fists and claws strike him, but it was almost like she wasn't even in her own body. She had no physical intention to attack him, but she did it anyway. Everything after that becomes blank. Tigress comes to the horrifying realization that something was controlling her.

The voice had introduced itself. She recognized the name. Someone she knew from stories she read as a child. It had declared its return to be inevitable. But that can't be possible. But nevertheless, this is a piece of vital information that could put the world in danger. The others have to know. She must warn them.

Tigress stands up, unsteadily. She regains her balance and turns towards looks around. How can she get out of here? How far into the forest is she? How can she get back in time to warn Po and the others about who their enemy really is?

Po.

Is he still upset about how she treated him before? Will he be willing to forgive her for her poor behavior? She hopes he will at least understand how she was feeling at the time.

She shakes her head. No time to worry about that now. She must get back to the city and help stop this evil monster.

She runs through the forest in the direction she determines to be west. She must hurry. They don't know what's coming. They must be warned of the return of a foe they thought to have been dead for so long.

Siwang.


	14. Uncovered Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter with some pretty significant changes from the original. There will probably be some changes in future chapters. So I ask that people not read the Fanfiction.net version. It's embarrassing. Well, even on this site, it's kind of embarrassing because of how badly written it is.

Po finally opens his eyes.

The panda's vision is blurry, and when he tries to rub his eyes, he finds himself unable to move. He blinks several times, trying to clear his vision. He looks at his hands, which are tied to the arms of a chair he is sitting in. He also notices that he is tied around his torso. The ropes loop around his body, arms, and legs multiple times to avoid having him escape.

He looks around the room he is in. It appears to be the same room he was in before except there are four more chairs in the center of the room.

Po tries to remember what happened, but his brain is still fuzzy. He shakes his head in an attempt to wake his brain up a bit more. He looks around for Cho-Pa, but the snow leopard is nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, so you're finally awake."

Cho-Pa is seen at the top of the stairs. But this time, he is wearing completely different attire. He is wearing a purple vest with a black trim. The vest is similar to Tigress's, except for the color and the silver dragon design on it. He is wearing a pair of pants that are also purple and look slightly baggy, while the black trim at the bottom of the legs wraps tightly around the snow leopard's ankles. Tied around his waist is a wide black sash with a narrower silver belt tied around the sash. The panda is actually quite impressed at how well the contrasting colors go together.

"Master Cho-Pa! Are you alright? What even happened there? Can you help me out of this before... whoever comes back?"

Cho-Pa looks at the panda with an expressionless look. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dragon Warrior."

"Okay..." Po looks back, confused. "Why not?"

Cho-Pa glares at the panda with a smirk on his face. He slowly walks towards Po. "Well, I guess it would be a good idea to... explain myself to someone who's too much of an imbecile to figure it out for himself." He brings his face directly in front of Po's. His sarcastic tone irritating the panda.

"So... you're evil, then?"

Cho-Pa shrugs. "Well, if that's how you want to look at it."

The fuzziness in Po's brain is gone as he racks his brain. At last, he comes to a realization. "Wait a minute. You've been lying to us this whole time," he says as Cho-Pa just smiles. "You are involved in this. You... you're working with... it. That thing we were looking for. You have something to do with the way people have behaved."

Cho-Pa nods impressed. "Very good guess. I guess you're smarter than I give you credit for."

"I had my suspicions after finding that mess in Tigress's room. But you attacked her, didn't you?" A flame of anger burned inside Po.

"Actually, she did attack me, as I said. However, she did not do it willingly. Because I made her do it, and she doesn't even know." Cho-Pa chuckled at the situation. "It's kinda funny, thinking back on it."

"Wait, _you_ made her attack you? That means..." Po's eyes darted around before glaring at the leopard again. "That means you are the very thing you said you've been looking for in the first place."

Cho-Pa looks surprised. "Hmm, funny. You always came across to me as unintelligent. I guess I misjudged you. So you see, Dragon Warrior, I am not Master Cho-Pa, I am actually... Siwang."

Po's eyes widen. "Siwang? The Dragon of Death?"

"Yes."

"But I thought Oogway had killed you."

Siwang laughs in amusement. "Killed me? Don't be a fool. No being alive can kill a dragon except another dragon. That stupid tortoise stole half of my power. I could not change into my dragon form. I was stuck like this for over a hundred years." He gestures to himself. "But now I finally have the chance to take back the rest of my power, which you hold."

Po looks confused. "What? Me? How do I have your power? I was not born, like, a hundred years ago. So I don't—"

Siwang slaps his paw on his head. "No, you stupid—" Then he sighs. "It's the scroll? The Dragon Scroll. Did Oogway not tell you anything about its true power at all?"

"Yeah, I realized that it's not power that makes you great. You have to find that greatness inside of yourself to become a better person."

Siwang turns his back to Po. "That's not it at all! That advice is for the common folk. That scroll is what he put the other half of my power in when he defeated me. And he waited to give the scroll to whoever was worthy to be able to take the scroll and use its evil power for good. Then somehow, he chose you."

"Well, apparently he must have sensed that ability in me," Po says with a cheeky grin.

Siwang turns to face Po again. "The second you looked at that scroll, my power was transferred into you. With that power, you managed to kill my grandson and defeat Shen, and accomplished countless other feats, all because of that power Oogway stole from me and gave to you. He made the best choice for the Dragon Warrior, but he was a fool to think that you would be able to defeat me."

"Oogway was not a fool!" Po says, insulted by the leopard's words. "He was a wise master, the creator of kung fu."

Siwang's face moves closer to the panda's. "Kung fu is nothing compared to the powers of a dragon! It may have saved you several times before, but it won't save you now." He holds out his hand and his staff flies into his hand. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to take back the rest of my power."

Then Siwang jabs the tip of his staff into the panda's bouncy stomach, sending him into a giggle fit. But then he starts giving little painful yelps as he feels something burning inside like something is being sucked out of his body. His body weakens as he feels the burn travel from all over his body to the part of his stomach the staff is poking. Then the golden staff and the jewels that decorate it start to glow. The jade-colored jewels change color to white. As the staff glows brighter, the pain only gets worse for Po. His yelling gets louder, turning into a deafening scream as the burning continues.

Then Po stops and his head falls back as all the power is fully drained from his body. Siwang looks at his staff in excitement.

"Yes. Yes!" He holds the staff towards the ceiling. "I've finally got it!" He lowers his staff. "At last, after all these years, I have finally regained my full power." He holds the staff at arm's length as the jewels start to glow. "And now, it is time to bring back what I have been denied for a hundred years." The staff gets brighter and brighter. "Once again, I am finally able to take my dragon form!"

Then a huge explosion of blinding light is released from the tip of the staff. Everything goes white.

  


Po opens his eyes to find himself lying on the ground. The ropes that held him to the chair have been removed. He looks up and realizes that the ceiling is gone, and he stares at a large, empty, red sky. Red. Empty. Wait, what? There isn't even a sun. It's all just an empty void. He can't even tell what time it is anymore. The panda sits up and looks around. The walls are gone too. As a matter of fact, nothing of what he saw before is around anymore. No room, no temple, nobody, no anything. The only thing in sight is... nothing. Sure, he's sitting on top of a mountain, but other than that, there is literally nothing, not even sounds. No birds, wind, music. Looking down the mountain, it ends in a red fog, giving off the impression that there is indeed literally nothing in this place. It's almost as if this was a completely different world.

But where did Siwang go? After the flash of light, Po had expected him to be here as well, seeing as he brought Po here in the first place, surely he would have brought himself here as well.

Then Po's hands fly to his ears as he hears an earsplitting roar coming from behind him. Then he ducks his head at the sound of flapping getting closer, and he feels air rush at him as something flies above him. Po looks back up and his eyes and mouth open wide in shock.

A dragon is flying in the air. His primary scales are pure white, but the underside is covered in just plain brown scales. The thin skin of his wings is pink against the red background. On each of his wings are two claws, which seem like highly effective climbing tools. The reptile has a long tail with spikes sticking out of the sides at the end of it. His neck is quite long too, stretching longer than his body and almost as long as his tail. He has a pretty large snout, almost square-shaped, and a few teeth stick out of the sides of his mouth. As he roars again his forked tongue becomes visible. Also on each side of his snout are several very short whiskers that sort of curl around, not hanging in any particular direction. Two skinny horns stick out of his head, pointing behind him. His eyes are glowing white, making his pupils invisible.

The dragon turns his head towards Po and flies towards him, roaring loudly. Po stands up and tries to leave, but then he falls right back down when the dragon lands right above him. Po rolls over and stares at the dragon. Siwang stands over him, taller than a giraffe.

Siwang stares back down at Po, who is utterly terrified by the sight of the dragon.

"Hmm... Still not complete," he says in a much deeper voice. "There is still something missing. No matter. I will find it later. But first, thank you, Dragon Warrior, for bringing me back." He laughs. "Now that I have almost my full power, I hope you don't mind if I borrow you for a little while. I want to keep this a surprise for your friends."

"Wait, what?" Then Po feels something strange like he is somewhat separated from his body because his body is moving without being under his control. "I thought I told you before I wasn't into the whole mind-control thing." These words refuse to leave his mouth, although he did try to will himself to say them. This is it; Po has absolutely no control over his body. He watches as Siwang leans in towards him, and speaks in the most tauntingly triumphant tone:

"Let's go for a walk."


	15. From Friends to Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, another chapter entirely rewritten. Literally the only part that I took from the original version was the first line on the page.

"Has anyone seen Masters Po or Tigress yet?"

Shifu dashes into the kitchen, where the rest of his students are waiting for dinner. They had waited for their favorite panda chef to cook, but after waiting a while, they decided on asking the temple chef. In response to Shifu's question, they all shrugged.

"Not since this afternoon," Crane replied. "Even his naps don't last this long."

Shifu looks down worried. "Then there is something wrong."

The others share a similarly worried expression. "What happened, Master?" Viper asks.

"Tigress and Po are missing. Something happened in the barracks."

Some of the masters gasp, questioning whether or not it could have been intruders, or perhaps the two of them had fought. But they probably wouldn't just go missing together like that. Unless...

"Do you think someone has taken them?" Viper asks as she approaches Shifu.

"I don't know. I suppose it's possible. Some of the citizens have been acting more strangely. Whatever's causing this may have something to do with it."

"You don't think... mind control..."

Everything goes silent. Everyone exchanges worried glances between each other as they consider such a possibility. Words remain unspoken for a moment until the silence is broken by Mantis.

"Well, personally, I didn't think Po had enough 'mind' to be able to control."

He flinches at vipers angry scowl towards him.

"Hey, I'm not saying he's stupid. He's just a little more simple-minded than the rest of us."

Viper's expression remains unchanged.

"It's not like it's a bad thing. He's still just as strong as any of us."

Mantis crosses his arms (or claws) and Viper sighs, shaking her head. Shifu also shakes his head as he facepalms and sighs in annoyance.

"We need to find them as soon as we can. Does anyone have any clue to their whereabouts?"

"Didn't you find clues, Master?" Viper asked.

Shifu shakes his head. "I'm afraid not. I want you all to ask the staff and the villagers. I will look for Master Cho-Pa. Someone is bound to know something."

All masters spread out in different directions. Monkey head out the door towards the village with Mantis on his back. Viper and crane head down separate hallways to ask the temple staff. Shifu dashed through the halls as quickly as his tiny legs would take him. The first place he decided to look was the council chamber. He was most likely to be there at this time since their dinner break would have already passed by now. He races through a series of hallways, dodging his way through many crowded areas until he reached the entrance of the council room. He pushes against the doors, but they are unable to open. He tries pushing harder, but the result is the same. He knocks on the door a few times. Then he picks up the sound of moaning like someone is in pain. The sound is followed by a call for help.

No doubt this emergency is even greater than Shifu thought. He needs to get in that room _now_. He repositions himself in front of the doors and closes his eyes. He inhales deeply, then exhales, and inhales again. Then he strikes the door with his hands, bursting a hole in the door about his size. He enters the room, stepping over the large chunks of wood. He freezes, shocked by the sight before him. The bodies of all the masters of the council are strewn about the room, all injured, and only half of them unconscious. Some who are awake struggle just to stand, while some others tend to the unconscious injured. Master Kahn leans against one of the chairs to stay standing, fists clenched, expression angry. Shifu approaches him.

"Master Kahn. What happened here?"

"Shifu," the large cat responded, panting. "That Dragon Warrior of yours... attacked us."

Shifu's jaw drops and his eyes widen. "What?"

Kahn stares blankly at the table. "We couldn't take him. He's too strong. I told that old fool that this would happen." He looks down at Shifu. "There's something not right about him, Shifu. Ever since he became the head of the council, I knew there was something off about him."

"But where is Po?"

The doors break open.

"I'm right here."

Shifu turns around. Indeed, there is Po, standing at the entrance with his hands behind his back and a cocky smirk on his face.

"Po, what do you think you're doing?!"

Po chuckles. _Master Shifu, get out of here! It's a trap!_ Po tries to speak, but he can't. "Really, you can't just figure it out? I'm simply doing what I was told to do." The panda casually picks at his nails.

Shifu's eyebrows lower. "You're not the real Po. You're just a puppet."

"Well, while you are correct, I am still technically Po."

"What do you want?" the red panda snarls.

"What I want, Shifu, is to be free. Using the Dragon Warrior's power, I have been able to regain my true form. However, I am still not complete. My power is weaker than it once was. If I recall correctly, there is a certain object of importance that can enhance my powers greatly. Something called the Shadow Orb. I've been searching for it for years, but have found nothing. So while I can currently maintain my true form, I cannot use my full abilities."

"Po's power? I don't recall--"

Po rolls his eyes. "The Dragon Scroll, Shifu. It contained my power, which was passed onto him once he looked upon it. It's how he defeated Tai Lung and yadda yadda yadda. I'm surprised you were never told of this. What an irresponsible master he was. I mean, "

Shifu snarls again. "Release Po. _Now_!"

"Oh, but Shifu, we're just getting to the fun part." Po snaps his fingers, and the rest of Shifu's students stand on either side of Po. Each of them with an evil smile plastered on their faces.

Shifu looks in shock. No. He can't fight his own students. But this monster has taken control of all of them, except for one. Where is Tigress? Shifu looks around the room, but she's nowhere to be found. She was still missing, or perhaps under this spell.

"Aw, look at poor little Shifu," the panda mocked. Po snaps his fingers again, and the other masters take a fighting stance. Shifu reluctantly does the same, with members of the council joining right next to him. Injuries or not, those who are at least able to stand ready themselves for battle.

"Looks like he's gonna be forced to kill his own students."


	16. Familiar Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning: I didn't know how to write out a battle scene, so I kinda just made it short, especially since we are now getting into "Non-copy/paste" territory. If you ask me, I should have just rewritten the entire story if I was gonna write entire chapters, such as this one, without copying it from my Fanfiction account. But I will probably continue to do that whenever necessary.

Tigress nearly stumbles.

She begins to regret climbing over the mountains to get back to the city. She should have stayed in the woods. However, she can see the city from atop the mountains, so it would have been the better choice anyway. She usually has no trouble with mountain-climbing.

But the problem she has this time is exhaustion. While she can't remember how she ended up so deep in the forest, she certainly didn't get here by teleportation. It would explain why she's worn out. But that's not even the worst of it. Her head is spinning. She is unsure whether it's from any other buildings she may have crashed through, but she is sure having a difficult time focusing on her mission. Still, she must continue. She must find her friends and her master, and Master Cho-Pa. Surely he knew she never intended to attack him. He's already seen many cases like this before.

She nearly stumbles again. She struggles to keep her eyes open, but the aching in her head... Her eyes squeeze shut as she tries to reduce the pain.

She stumbles once again, but this time succeeds in faceplanting into the solid rock. She grumbles to herself, clutching at her head in the fetal position. She tries to stand back up, nearly falling again in the process. The exhaustion seems to be getting to her. She places her hand on her head again, and when she moves it away, she notices something she hadn't before.

Blood.

She never even realized she was bleeding. How did that happen? Did she injure her head crashing through her door? Or running through the forest? No idea. She looks behind her. She's been leaving a trail this whole time. She had been so focused on her own worries that she never noticed.

She places a paw over the wound in an attempt to keep it from bleeding out so much. Then another wave of dizziness washes over her. This time she falls again. Her head hits the ground, sharp bouts of pain following. She struggles to move, but she can't even keep her eyes open anymore. She catches one quick glimpse of someone running towards her.

  


Shifu gets knocked to the ground as the panda continues beating on him. Surprisingly, Po and the other masters are the only ones with the fewest injuries or bruises. Shifu and the council members are not faring well in this battle.

The red panda jumps up and kicks, only to be avoided by Po... again. He and Po continue exchanging attacks, but unfortunately, the only one who keeps receiving any actual damage is Shifu himself. As he gets tossed back again, Kahn throws a chair at Po, but he grabs it, using the momentum to spin and throw it right back. The chair hits Kahn, knocking him back into the table.

Po looks around the room, observing the constant failings of his enemies as his friends continue to mercilessly pummel them. He chuckles at the sight. "You guys do realize that you suck, right?" He snaps his fingers, and his friends withdraw from the fight to stand next to him. Most of the council members can't even stand back up, let alone attack Po and his friends. "You know I could end this battle real easily by simply killing you all right here and now." _Please don't_.

"Then why don't you?" Shifu yells.

"I figured I'd have a little fun while I'm searching for the Shadow Orb. Watching this keeps me from getting bored while looking."

"What? Where are you? _Who_ are you?"

"Ah, ah, ah. I can't tell you that just yet. It's a secret." Po then looks towards one of the windows. "Ah, I can feel her close by. Well, Dragon Warrior. This is your moment to shine. Let's put on a performance you shall not soon forget." Then Po motions for the other to stay and keep the council members here before he leaves the room. Unfortunately for Shifu and his allies, they are all too weak to protest. Perhaps that was the idea. But where could Po be heading now? Who is he going to see? And what is this evil puppetmaster going to make him do?

  


Tigress's eyes suddenly snap open. She stares at an unfamiliar wooden ceiling, listening to the sound of birds chirping outside. It takes her a moment to process what happened. She vaguely remembers someone rushing towards her, but has no clear image of who it was or what they looked like.

She slowly lifts herself into a sitting position and goes to rub her head. But someone has already bandaged up her wound. She looks around the room. It's very small, barely big enough to fit a family. Minus the bed, everything else surrounding her seems to be made of wood, making it painfully obvious that she couldn't possibly be in the Jade City, with its strong stone walls everywhere. This shelter must belong to whoever found her. Or at least its new owner. A thick layer of dust on everything, broken boards on the walls, shutters missing, and pieces of table scattered. But also, based on the structure, Tigress can tell that this place was hastily put together by someone who doesn't have much experience in construction. The bed she is on seems to be a new addition, apparently made up of a few blankets stacked on top of one another. She stands up carefully, using the wall for support. She rubs her eyes, attempting to wake them up more. What time is it now?

She gasps. How much time has she lost? How long was she out? How close is the danger? She clumsily rushes to the window and looks outside. With her keen eye, she can determine based on the direction the sun is going what time it is. As far as she can tell, she's been unconscious for at least an hour. Siwang may have already done something to her master and friends by now.

She leaves the room through a doorway, looking for the owner. "Hello?"

 _Crack_.

Tigress jumps slightly, as she looks down at what she stepped on: the door. The room she enters is just as small as the bedroom and is apparently the only other room in the shelter, as the next doorway only leads outside. Clearly, this was not meant to be a simple home away from home. She picks up the door and leans it against the wall. There's what appears to be a large slice of a tree trunk on the floor in front of the exit. Curious, Tigress picks it up to examine it.

A family portrait in astounding detail. Possibly done by the original owner. But one face in the portrait strikes her as familiar. The same face of the tiger portrait she saw in the Jade City. She is standing next to a slightly more muscular male tiger and in her arms lays a baby. The male has one arm going behind her in a hug, with the other hand supporting her arm that the baby is in. He has the most genuine joyful smile on his face. So does the mother as she cradles the infant. Tigress takes a closer look at the infant, staring into its familiar set of orange eyes. Even the face shape looked similar to her own.

Is this her? Could she have been correct all along? Was this woman indeed her mother?

Tigress looks around the room and finds a piece of fabric. This should be big enough to hold it. She spreads it out, ignoring the holes as she places the portrait on top of it and ties the corners together. She can't bear the thought of leaving this memory behind. She will bring it back hope, where it shall be preserved.

As she begins her exit, she notices a piece of parchment in the corner with words written on it. She picks it up and gives it a read. The name of the author at the bottom reads "Meili". Was this her mother's name? Or the figure who saved her? Much of the writing is illegible, but the beginning of it reads "To anyone who finds this", and goes on to talk about heartache and sadness and giving their little one away.

Tigress's own heart begins to ache. 'Given away'? But why?

She continues reading. She finds her own name shortly after. At least that confirms her suspicions. Apparently, Meili knows some sort of secret identity and something about danger, and this is why she could no longer care for her child. Siwang stands out among the words. Apparently she discovered the identity of Siwang, but the next sentence is unreadable. Then it describes Cho-Pa as being a madman, causing havoc, making people kill other people for his own enjoyment.

Tigress is shocked. That wasn't the kind of man he was at all. Not what he appeared to be, at least.

Meili continues with a warning about Cho-Pa controlling minds. He hasn't lost all of his power. Then there's something about her husband getting murdered, followed by saving Tigress. The rest is faded, except a small note dedicated to her daughter, Tigress, ending with "I'm sorry". Tigress drops the parchment as she comes to realize the gravity of the situation that she and her friends walked straight into. Her mother built this place to hide from Siwang. All this time, the problem was directly under their noses the entire time. And now, thanks to her mother, Tigress herself knows the truth.

Cho-Pa is Siwang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost ended this chapter in a completely different way that would have caused problems for one idea that had been hinted towards since chapter 1. I was about to make Siwang reveal himself and attack everyone. I need to read my stuff, yo.


	17. A Nightmare Brought To Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of this chapter might be a little bit of copy/paste in order for this to come full circle, but most of it is brand new ideas... again.

Tigress steps outside the shelter.

"Hello?" she calls, only to receive no response.

She realizes she's at the edge of the forest. She looks at all of the trees, the green of the leaves a much more relieving sight than mountains and rocks. Tigress feels a short moment of peace before she remembers what she is supposed to be doing. She climbs up one of the trees to get an idea of where to go. She's much closer to the city than she was last. She jumps back down and grabs her portrait and takes one last look around. Whoever saved her has to be around somewhere. But since they aren't, she decides to just head to the city.

She gets stopped by the sound of rustling. Something was in one of the bushes nearby. It is too loud to have been made by any squirrel or other small animal. Could it be her savior? "Hello?"

No answer. She starts to feel uneasy. She keeps walking as she feels her body tense up. More rustling. From a different bush this time. She must be ready to fight if anything comes out to attack her. She hears more rustling and looks in the directions they came from. Nothing is visible, but she only manages to get a quick glimpse of someone's tail. She enters a clearing and stands in the middle of it, signifying to the creatures that she's aware of their presence. Her paws clench into fists as she waits for the first attack.

Then soon a small group of four wolves runs out from the trees and attack. Tigress jumps back as one wolf tries to kick her. Then she grabs his foot and kicks him in the face, sending him stumbling back. Two more try to punch her, but she blocks the attacks with her arms and punches one hard in the face, and the other in the stomach. Another wolf tries to swing a paw at Tigress but misses when she ducks. Then she kicks him in the face, causing him to stagger, and his head makes an impact with a tree. He then hits the ground unconscious. Another one jumps into the air and tries to kick her, but she moves aside and he ends up kicking another wolf. Then he runs at her and starts punching and kicking her. She blocks most of the attacks, but she does take a few hits. As the only other wolf comes at her, she grabs the hand of the one she is fighting now and swings him at the other wolf, resulting in a kick to the face. He is then knocked out. Tigress kicks the wolf hard in the stomach.

Two more wolves come in to attack. Tigress does a roundhouse kick, knocking one wolf out. The other swings an ax at her, but she ducks out of the way and punches the wolf in the face and he falls to the ground. She eases out of her fighting stance, but her stance returns when she hears a voice.

"Hey, nice moves Tigress."

She lowers her stance when she realizes that Po is walking up to her with his hands behind his back. The tiger smiles and nods. "Thanks, Po."

The panda gives her a teasing smile, "Maybe you'll be more awesome than me one day."

She recognizes these words. In fact, this whole scenario was familiar. This is exactly what happened in her dream. Were those dreams meant to warn her of what was to come? That doesn't make sense. Having premonitions was more like Master Oogway's level of ability. Whatever the case, this was happening now, and she needed to stop what she knows will happen from happening.

She decides to play along with a feigned smile and a light chuckle. "Right."

Wait for it.

Po then looks a little more serious. "Hey, uh, Tigress, there is something I have to tell you."

That is when Tigress acts quickly. She leans far back as Po swing a dagger at her. When her hands touch the ground, she kicks her legs up, knocking the dagger into the air. Her feet fly over her head and touch the ground. Then she does a backflip in the air as she catches the dagger. She lands on the ground, dagger tucked in her sash, ready to defend against Po.

No, not Po. Siwang's puppet. Despite being one and the same, she knows Po is not in control of himself.

Po rushes at her, and she adjusts her stance so the dagger cannot be easily reached. She blocks a kick from him and attempts a punch. But he blocks. Then he feints with a right punch and connects with a left, hitting her square in the nose. She ignores the pain as she attempts another strike at him.

She can rarely land a hit on him, as Po is not quite as unlucky in their exchange of punches and kicks.

She jumps and kicks a large branch off of a nearby tree and grabs it. As she falls, she swings downward to hit Po, but Po swings a fist and breaks the whole thing in half. Tigress stares at Po, completely baffled. How has he gotten so much stronger? Can Siwang's influence over him even do that?

Po grabs the two halves of the branch and hurls them in Tigress's direction. She dodges the first one, but Po has been able to predict her next move, as the second half lands a second blow on her nose. She gets knocked onto her back, as blood gushes out of her nose. She cries in pain as her hands instinctively move up to her nose.

Po grabs hold of the blade in her sash. But Tigress swiftly grabs his arm and they both wrestle over the dagger. Tigress manages to connect a few punches to Po's face, but he barely even flinches. His punches, on the other hand, cause insult to injury for her nose. Her grip starts to loosen, so she grabs his hand with her other hand and swings behind him to avoid being attacked. She hooks her leg around his free arm to keep it from moving as well. But this was a mistake on her part. Po grabs her ankle and pushes his arm outward, twisting her leg in the meantime. Tigress screams in pain while Po manages to free his dagger-wielding hand from her grasp. Tigress lands on the ground, pained sounds still leaving her mouth.

Po strikes at her with the blade, but she rolls out of the way, kicking the dagger out of his hand before flipping herself up onto her feet while avoiding putting pressure on her bad leg. She knows she's a bloody mess, and yet, somehow, Po isn't even breaking a sweat. In fact, he's not breaking, period. No amount of damage she can deal out has any effect on him, except a small nosebleed. Po catches the falling dagger, maintaining a casual stance, indicating to Tigress that he has practically won this.

"Why are you doing this, Siwang?" Tigress yells.

 _Well, at least she knows to direct her words to the right person_ , the real Po thinks to himself. "I don't know. I guess I just find it fun. It is pretty entertaining to see people think they can take me on but then fail miserably." He sniffles and wipes blood from his nose.

Tigress glares daggers at the panda. "What do you hope to gain from all of this?"

"I simply want to retake my position as the ruler of China." He shrugs. "Is that so bad?"

"With the way you're doing it, yes. You kill people because it's fun. You don't care about anyone else's life but your own."

Po points a finger at her. "Well, what's the point? Those I did care about eventually figured out who I really am and what I've been doing _and_ what I've been spending my whole life searching for. Oogway, the one I trusted, took my power away from me. Then the rest tried to bring about the end of me."

"And so you killed them all? Even your own daughter?"

"She and your mother were going to expose me, so I did what had to be done. I couldn't let myself be put to death before I could get my power back. They act like I'm some sort of monster. Even if they're right, they still want me dead. People used to call all dragons monsters. Killing them just for existing. Your mother was run out of her own home village because she used to be a dragon."

Tigress looks at him confused and shocked.

"Ah," Po continues. "I take it you didn't know that. Have you ever wondered about the source of your incredible strength that everyone so admires? You have dragon blood in you, but you do not have the ability to fight against my mind control, because you are not a true dragon. We may be monsters because we are dragons, but you, Tigress... You are a monster because you contain the strength of one."

Tigress's heart stings at the words.

"Oh, looks like I hit a nerve. Could it be you know what that's like? To be despised due to your extraordinary abilities? Being put so high on a pedestal, that your friends have to live in your shadow? Being so strong and intimidating that people think you feel nothing? You're just some cold-hearted demon? Honestly, who'd want to be friends with someone like that?"

Tigress's heart continues to ache at his words. What is he doing? Why is he saying all these things? Is he just trying to bring her down more? Because it's working. But he has every opportunity to kill her right now, so why is wasting all his time delivering harsh insults?

That's right, Siwang enjoys the pain and suffering of others. He craves it. Whether emotional or physical, it's all a game to him. And he relishes every moment of it. That malicious grin of amusement on his face makes that much obvious.

"Well don't feel too bad about it. With what I'm about to do," Po glides his fingers along the sides of the blade and looks Tigress in the eye, "will be a huge favor to everyone." He slowly walks towards her.

Tigress backs away, dreading the look in Po's eyes as he says those words.

"So you're little 'boyfriend', the Dragon Warrior, is gonna watch as he slowly buries this blade deep into your heart. And I will know exactly how he's feeling and love every second of his agony."

Tigress tries to run towards the city, but Po throws the dagger at her, and it sinks into the side of her abdomen. She falls over, moaning in agony from the piercing pain in her side. Po walks towards her as she grabs the handle of the dagger and pulls it out. She lets out a whine as she attempts to throw it away. But Po grabs her arm and grabs the weapon from her hand. He rolls her onto her back and pins her down with his weight. She struggles to move her arms, but they're pinned down too.

Po raises the dagger to strike. Tigress, feeling weak and battered, has lost all hope in winning this fight and prepares for her untimely death.

But then something strikes Po and knocks him over. Tigress looks up to see, standing between her and Po, another panda. 

"Forgive me, Tigress," he says, taking a quick glance at her. "I had hoped I would return to the shelter before you left."

How did he know her name? Have they met before?

"Yao?! Impossible!" Po yells, outraged. "You're still alive? How did you survive to wolf attack?!"

"There are many of us who escaped Shen's attack, Siwang. Now release my son before I force you out of him."

Po looks contemplative. If anyone could overthrow a dragon's power, it was the very panda standing right in front of him.

"Release him and pick on someone your own size."

"I thought I had tied all the loose ends. But I guess I missed one." A moment of silence before Siwang makes his decision. "Very well, then. I guess I'll have my chance."

Po then feels gravity take hold as he regains his balance. He walks towards the other panda in disbelief of what he is seeing. "Dad? Is it really you?" He pokes the panda in the face. "Or maybe some kind of ghost or something?"

Yao's face has a deadpan expression as he pushes Po's hand away. "No ghost, son. It's just me." He grabs his son's hand and caresses it. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you. All this time I thought you were dead."

"Hey, I'm fine... Dad." Po's voice wobbles at the end of the sentence. "Sorry, there's someone else I call dad, so..."

Yao nods. "Yeah, I know. It's a little weird. I get it."

"I mean, I've always wonder who my real dad was, but I could never consider my not-real dad anything less than a real dad. But since I already have a real dad--"

"Mind telling me your name?" Yao asked, simply to end Po's barrage of yapping.

"Oh, uh, Po."

"Well, Po, you'd best get your friend some help in the Jade City."

Yao pulls a yellow glowing orb out of his pocket, and it glows even brighter as his form grows 20 times his size and becomes that of an actual dragon. This dragon has yellow scales on its back and brown ones underneath. He looks similar to Siwang in almost every other way; square snout, teeth stick out, long neck, and spikes on the end of his tail. But his horns are thicker. His eyes are yellow and his pupils look like vertical slits. He has white whiskers hanging from his snout and scars all over him from the damage inflicted by Siwang the last time they fought.

His name is Banshui, the Royal Dragon Guardian, the first out of six Dragon Guardians of China. He has been around for thousands of years making him the oldest of all the dragons from the past. But he is the last remaining dragon in the mortal world, aside from Siwang. He spreads his wings, preparing for takeoff.

"This is my fight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2020-06-26 Edit: I realized that I made Siwang say that Shifu took his power. I had meant to write Oogway but accidentally wrote the wrong name.


	18. Worst Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Completely new never-existed-in-the-original-story chapter, unless it does exist. I don't remember, I never read my own stuff. I rather like this one. It may be shorter than others, but there's a battle coming up, so I don't know how that's gonna go.

Shifu tends to the wounded.

He occasionally looks over to see his own students eyeballing him and his allies. Those who are not seriously wounded help to temporarily patch up those who are until they can be taken to a hospital. But as long as the members of the Furious Five are there, nobody is going anywhere. Shifu's ear twitches as he picks up the distant sound of a roar. Everyone freezes in place, ears searching all directions for the source of the sound. It remains silent.

Suddenly, the Furious Five members fall to the ground. Viper, the only one who technically didn't fall, helps the others to their feet. Shifu sighs in relief.

"Are you guys okay?" She asks. After several 'yesses', she looks towards her master with a look of concern. "You heard that, right?" He nods. "What was that?"

Shifu shakes his head. "I have no idea, I'm afraid."

"Sounds like something big," Monkey says.

Mantis leaps on top of Monkey's shoulder. "That sounds like our cue to clear outta this crazy town. All in favor?" He raises a claw.

"No. We can't leave without Po and Tigress," Viper proclaims.

"We'll leave them a note or something."

"No," Shifu walks towards his students. "We all came here together, so that how we'll be going out. Additionally, we haven't even finished what he came all the way here to do. We'll figure out where they've gone, and then put an end to whatever this threat is."

"Um, how do you put an end to mind control when we have no idea who's doing it in the first place?" Crane asks.

Then suddenly the ceiling starts to crumble down. The wounded councilmen shield their faces from the dust and rocks raining from above. Shifu and his students manage to move them out of the way of debris while decimating anything flying right at them. Followed by the event comes a loud screeching sound emanating from the attacker.

"What is that?!" Crane screams over the noise.

Shifu looks out a window as he gets a clear view of the monster. A large white-scaled dragon flying towards the outskirts of the city. He stares dumbfounded at the creature. He knows who that is. A creature who had been gone for a century. The one dragon that represents death.

Siwang.

Shifu had not been around for the flying demon's downfall, but he had heard stories about him from his master. Oogway had told him about Siwang's power being sealed away in the Dragon Scroll, and only the Dragon Warrior, the one who would be deemed worthy to wield such power, would be as powerful as the dragon guardians themselves. Even Shifu himself had no understanding of how the transferring of said power worked until after Po had defeated Tai Lung. Po, the Dragon Warrior, had proven himself worthy of taking that title and carrying that power time and time again.

But that means that if Siwang is back in full form, he has managed to take that power away from Po, which means...

He fears the worst for his valued student.

"A dragon?" Viper says as she looks nervously at her master. "I thought dragons died out a long time ago."

Still shocked at the sight, Shifu forces himself to look at Viper. In a solemn tone, he replies, "No. Some still remain, but not as true dragons." He looks back out the window with a blank expression. "Until now."

His eyes follow the flying reptile in the distance. Another roar echoes across the city, teeming with a powerful rage that not even he had ever witnessed. If Siwang is back, he will no doubt lay waste to the whole world which had always resented and hunted dragon-kind. The day he lost his power was supposed to be the day the Dragon Era had ended. Oogway had believed it to be so when he passed on with the assurance that the Dragon Warrior would defend the lives of all innocents. But now, one has returned after one hundred years, seeking revenge, and the Dragon Warrior is most likely dead by now.

The old red panda continues to stare outside, but this time, not really _at_ anything, as the trees have now obstructed his view of the dragon. Hopelessness washes over him as he slowly bows his head in remembrance of his top students, Po and Tigress.

Moments run through his head of the many times Po has used his flaws and seemingly disadvantageous physical stature and turned them all into amazing strengths. Shifu had never seen a warrior defy all expectations quite as Po did. Overexcited, eager to learn, ridiculously determined. These words all defined Po perfectly. Shifu was almost jealous of his tenacity. He was not willing to give up, no matter how much Shifu threw at him to drive him to quit. Po's greatest ability was always to push past other people's thoughts and opinions about him, hurtful or otherwise because he was always willing to try anything if he believed it was the right thing to do. And he was never afraid to put himself in harm's way if it meant keeping others safe. Po was a true warrior through and through.

Tigress was strong for other reasons. She was already oozing potential for greatness the day he first met her in the Bao Gu Orphanage. She had amazing physical abilities but had a tendency to push herself beyond her limits. Oftentimes, she seemed to resent him. Maybe if he had tried a little harder to show her that he cared about her. She wouldn't need to overwork herself immensely just to appeal to him. He had already loved her like a daughter, but sometimes that feeling scared him. If he became too attached, history would repeat itself. So he had to discipline her appropriately, and be careful with how much praise and adoration he gave to her. Whenever she expressed anger and disapproval of him, it stung him deeply. But he kept up the facade for the sake of not losing her like he had lost someone before. But he had never been able to get rid of that lingering regret he felt deep down in his heart.

Po, Tigress, as well as Monkey, Mantis, Crane, and Viper, they were never just his students. They meant so much more to him than that. All of them, every single one, were his family. They were everything. And now, he is about to lose everything in the upcoming doom soon to be laid out by the once dormant monster.

Shifu sighs in defeat.


	19. Fighting Fire With Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. Seeing as I am writing it from scratch, it's taking longer. Plus, it's a lot longer than many of the other chapters I've done. And besides that, I've been procrastinating. Not just from writing, but making my YouTube videos too, because that's the main thing that I do.

Banshui gets tackled to the ground.

Po steers clear of the brawl and dashes towards the Jade City, carrying a half-dead Tigress in his arms. Banshui kicks Siwang off of him and he makes an impact with the wall behind him. Siwang snarls at his opponent, inhales deeply, and sends a barrage of flames towards him. Banshui shields himself with a wing, the heat barely having any effect on him. Then as he moves his wing he also dodges to the side to avoid Siwang's pounce while swiping his claws at him, sending him crashing into a row of trees. Banshui had predicted that move, as it was a tactic Siwang used in their last battle. He breathes fire as a distraction and then tackles his foe.

Siwang rises to his feet again and lunges at his opponent, grasping at his throat with his powerful jaws. He twists his head, causing Banshui to fall onto his side. Banshui slashes Siwang in the face, forcing him to release his grip. He receives a headbutt from the yellow dragon, right on the nose. This old dragon is still just as strong as ever. There is no doubt about that. He swipes at him with his claws but misses.

He receives another strike from the claws of Banshui, followed by a long yellow tail making direct contact with his face. He gets knocked back, landing on his side. Banshui pauses the fight, maintaining a safe enough distance from his enemy.

"Your thirst for revenge is proving to be a tremendous distraction to you, my old friend. You just never learn."

Wincing, Siwang stands back up, and slowly approaches his old master. Banshui takes a defensive stance. Siwang's eyes burn with hatred for the old man.

"I have nothing left to learn from you. So shut up with your condescending bull!"

He pounces once again at Banshui, who then slams his head against the dirt. He raises his claws to strike but gets slapped in the face by a white pair of wings. This does not loosen his hold on Siwang, however. Banshui instead opens his maw and aims for the neck. Siwang attacks with his wings again, catching one of the claws on one of his horns, causing him to stumble to the side. He tries to snap his jaws around Banshui's leg, but with his stumbling, he misses. He grabs the old dragon by the neck with his teeth and attempts to smash his head against the wall. But Banshui rotates his head in an attempt to bash his opponent's head against it instead, but he and Siwang both collide with the wall. Siwang collapses to the ground but then swiftly stands back up to face his opponent again.

Wincing from the pain in his head, Banshui speaks to Siwang. "You know you cannot win, boy. Don't make me destroy you."

"It's too late, old man. Only one of us can leave alive."

Banshui looks at his old student in disappointment. "Then I'm sorry, Siwang, but it will not be you."

He gives his old master a deathly glare. Other than his wincing from the pain in his head, Banshui doesn't appear to be physically weak in the slightest, even with all his cuts and bruises. His strength has greatly increased since they last fought, as is what happens with dragons as they age. Attacking him head-on was a massive mistake. There is no way Siwang is strong enough to overpower him.

But what's this? A certain weariness in his eyes. He is slowly getting tired. Even so, he is seriously beating the daylights out of him.

Siwang licks his lips, blood visiting his taste buds as it drips from the top of his head. Words remain unspoken, their facial expressions and snarls sending clear enough messages to each other. They stand there waiting for one another to make a move.

  


"Master Shifu!" Po yells, out of breath as he approaches his master at the entrance of the temple, an unconscious tiger in his arms.

Shifu stares at Po, unbelieving of what he is seeing. "Po! You're alive? But I thought--"

"Tigress--" Po interrupts, still breathing heavily. "She needs help now!"

Still dumbfounded over the fact that Po is still alive, Shifu stumbles around his words. "Uh, y-yes. Let's get her to the infirmary for now." He turns to one of the councilmen. "Get a doctor here immediately. We need to treat these wounds now!"

He follows Po inside the temple. The two students he feared to be dead were both still alive, or at least, barely. But how did Po manage to survive his power being taken from him? He would have to have been killed for that to happen, or at least, that's what Shifu had assumed. 

But it doesn't matter anymore. They are both alive, and they have to save Tigress.

  


Still waiting.

Still silent.

Still glaring.

Siwang Looks his old master in the eyes again only to see a different look than before. This one looks... apologetic? What does he have to be sorry for? He's been trying to kill him this whole time. And he's winning.

But that weariness still lingers. And his scent. His scent is also different. It all becomes clearer. He's not getting tired from battle. He's sick. With what, he doesn't know. All he knows is he has to use this new information to his advantage if he's going to stand a chance. He needs to wear him out more. He could wear him down by keeping the fight going as long as he can, but that would be suicide. Banshui managed to do this much damage to him, and even sick, his strength still exceeds his own, and his reflexes are still sharp as a tack. It may be time for some more exercise.

"Not feeling well, old man?" Siwang taunts.

Banshui's expression alters ever so slightly. He seems surprised. He's been trying to hide it. But Siwang had already realized that. Banshui's brows furrow in acceptance. There was no point in trying to hide it anymore. But his body remains strong, so he would likely still be able to win this battle. But even if he loses, there is still one more thing he knows that Siwang doesn't, something that will be sure to stop him once and for all.

"This will not change anything, Siwang."

"I know. I'm just curious as to how long you will last while trying to stop me from tearing this city apart."

Banshui charges at him, but Siwang lifts himself with his wings. Unfortunately, Banshui jumps and tackles him down anyway. But once Siwang lands, he uses all four of his limbs to toss Banshui behind him. As Banshui slides across the ground, Siwang quickly stands back up and takes off again. Belting out a threatening roar as he flies over the city wall. Banshui takes off after him. All too aware of what Siwang is trying to do, he still has to try and keep as many innocent people unharmed as possible. At least he can try to weaken him enough to unleash his secret weapon. Luckily, there is barely anyone out in the streets since Siwang first emerged. He spots a large empty area further ahead and tries to pick up the pace.

Siwang glances behind him. The old dragon is catching up. He tries his best to ditch him, but his wings are just not strong enough. So there were a few kinks in his plan he didn't account for. Oh well, if he was going to be taken down, he would take the city with him. If the Shadow Orb was somewhere around this city, he could try to find that in the meantime.

He inhales deeply, but before he can release the flames, a pair of sharp teeth clamp down on his tail. He roars in pain as Banshui pulls him back and grabs him. They both fall to the ground, with Siwang taking the full impact. Banshui grabs his head and shashes into the hard cement ground. Then he lifts his head back up and smashes it down again. Siwang swings his tail towards the old dragon's side and a couple of spikes penetrate his tough skin. He lets out a pained screech before he releases his grip on Siwang's head and pulls his tail-spikes out. Then he quickly snaps his jaws at Siwang's neck, but Siwang dodges the attack and grabs his neck instead, pulling him off of him.

He stands up and flies off again, as before, followed by his old master. He swoops down and tears off the roofs of some of the houses. He tosses the rooftops at his follower, sending him swaying in his flight. Siwang inhales again, opens his mouth, and flames start coming out, engulfing civilian homes.

  


The surgeon arrives at the infirmary with his equipment. "Okay, I'm here." He rushes over to Tigress. "How's she doing?"

Shifu sits next to the bed holding Tigress's hand, almost having his hand crushed by her vice grip. All the while the doctor is examining her wounds, as well as checking for any internal damage. "She's holding up so far. She woke up just a few moments ago. Po managed to wrap that wound up before coming here. She's in a little bit of a panic, I suppose since this is the first time she's been stabbed. But I don't think it would have hit anywhere vital."

"Well, there's no telling until I can get a better look." The doctor rummages through his bag. "First time? I would have thought she'd have been hit with a blade more than that. But I guess some people are that good."

"She's had cuts, but those were practically nothing."

"Ah." The doctor freezes at the sound of the battle happening outside. "Well, I had better get this done quickly before those dragons level this place."

"Dragons? There's more?!" Shifu yells in disbelief.

The doctor nods. "Right outside."

Shifu and most of his students walk towards the window, and sure enough, there was a dogfight going on between two dragons in the distance. Shifu recognized the other dragon fighting Siwang. The head of the Dragon Guardians: Banshui, the Royal Dragon. How was that possible? How did he even show up? The remaining Dragon Guardians took to the form of other animals after they sealed their power away. How did Banshui manage to regain his original form?

"Look!" Po yells, pointing outside. "He's trying to destroy the houses!"

Wasting no time, Shifu turns around to face all his students. "We have to keep those citizens safe. Monkey, you stay here with Tigress in case she or the doctor need anything. And get them out safely if the battle gets too close to the temple. Everyone else, let's go get those people out there to safety. Let's go!"

  


Banshui gets knocked into a large statue, causing it to crumble. Before he can get up, Siwang slams into him. Banshui then wraps his legs around him and holds him close as his jaws close around his throat. This time, he squeezes as hard as he can. Siwang's front legs are unable to perform any vital attacks. He can only jab at his sides with his claws, but with this tight grip, he will likely die before he can get free. Unable to turn his head, he hopes that some piece of the statue can do some damage to Banshui's face, enough to at least loosen his grip. With as much strength as he can muster, he jerks his head to the side, causing Banshui to turn his head and a piece of the statue jabs into his eye.

Screaming in pain, Banshui releases his foe and brings one of his front limbs to his eye. He slaps Siwang with one of his wings to distract him, and he flies into the air to get some distance to recover for at least a few seconds. Siwang flies in a different direction and continues burning down buildings. Banshui chases after him. He is slower now than he was earlier. He's breathing more heavily. He's almost weak enough. Siwang smirks as he flies as fast as he can towards the temple, burning down as many buildings as he can.

Banshui catches a glimpse of Po and his friends removing people from their homes near the temple. He flaps his wings harder to reach Siwang. But Siwang has already reached the temple. He lands on the roof and takes a swing with his tail. He hits Banshui in the face, sending him crashing down to the ground. 

  


Po sees this occur. "Dad!" he yells as he almost starts sprinting towards him before he stops himself and looks back, remembering that his main priority right now is to guide all of the citizens out of the city. So he turns around and walks the same past as his comrades.

Shifu, having heard Po's outburst, looks at him confused. 'Dad'? But his dad was still in the Valley of Peace. There's no way he snuck all the way here with them. Unless... the Royal Dragon Guardian was...

He helps an elder goat walk as his mind fills with thoughts. Could it be possible? When the dragons gave up their power, they took the forms of mortal beings. Oogway became a tortoise. He isn't sure what the other dragons transformed into, but was it possible for them to breed? Then again, perhaps the Dragon Warrior was meant to be a descendent of the Dragon Guardians. The fact that Po could contain the power of a dragon was evidence enough for Shifu to consider it a possibility.

  


The old dragon tries to get up, but he stumbles and grasps at the pain in his chest as his heart begins to race. He struggles to talk, but words are replaced with gasps of air.

Siwang laughs. "Not good to fight in your condition, is it?"

He then proceeds to tear off parts of the roof as he peers inside the council room. There is no one inside the room, except for one member: Kahn. Kahn stares up at the dragon with an expression that contains a mixture of fear and determination.

"Ah," the large reptile leans inside. "My favorite friend. Here to lose control of your anger again?"

The liger growls. "Cho-Pa," he says in confirmation.

"So you knew?"

"I was always suspicious of you. I knew that you couldn't be trusted, that you were up to no good. I didn't, however, know that this was your true form. I don't know what it is you're after," he clenches his fists, "but you will not get away with this."

Siwang hisses as he slinks his way inside the room, fitting perfectly inside. Kahn trembles. Challenging a dragon is a terrible idea. But he did what he felt he had to to keep Siwang away from the temple. He has to protect those who are still inside.

"It's not like it matters to you what I'm looking for. I've been searching for over 50 years, and you were always the one getting in my way. I don't know why you are so persistent, but I'm going to put an end to it now."

He lunges his head forward for a bite but Kahn leaps out of the way. He jumps forward and goes for a kick. All he manages to do is knock a loose scale off of his face next to a large scratch. The pain from the wound still hits Siwang as he yelps. Then he snaps at Kahn several more times, but Kahn avoids every attack. He jumps on top of Siwang and runs along his neck. The dragon reaches back to grab him but he misses. Then he shakes himself, but Kahn grabs onto one of his wings.

  


"Carry her carefully!" The doctor yells as he and monkey and a couple of other assistants exit the temple, trying to ignore the noise coming from the roof as they carry Tigress outside. "I need to finish stitching, so put her behind that building!"

As parts of the entrance crumble, the doctor and his assistants stop behind one of the nearby houses, and he finishes his work, occasionally looking around the corner towards the source of the roars.

  


Kahn jumps off Siwang's tail and slides down the roof. He lands on the ground next to Banshui. The large cat looks at the yellow dragon. Banshui gives him a sickly look, as there's his head on the ground, trying to regain some of his stamina to continue fighting.

Kahn looks at him with worry. "Banshui". He walks towards him and gently lays a hand on his face. He can feel a deathly aura around him. He doesn't have a lot of time left to live.

Banshui gives him a sad look. They both continue to stare at one another until Siwang emerges from the temple roof. Kahn runs a distance away from the fallen dragon, waiting to fight. Siwang swoops down towards him. Kahn looks back to see the last remaining residents of the city leaving through the main gates. The doctor and Tigress are the last to leave. He is certain he will not survive this encounter, but knowing that the people are safe, at least his death won't be entirely meaningless.

He tries to avoid Siwang's attack, but a giant clawed foot lands right on top of him. Siwang smiles as he lifts his front leg, with an unconscious Kahn in his grasp. He opens his maw, but before he can toss Kahn inside, sharp teeth clamp tightly around his neck, causing him to drop his snack.

Banshui, with hardly enough energy to get up on his feet, squeezes his jaws as hard as he can. This time there was no working around killing him. Siwang's roars become strained as the old dragon's grip tightens further, closing his throat. It is taking all of Banshui's energy, and he can feel his heart rate go up, causing the pain to return. His eyes start to close on their own, and he struggles to keep them open. He can't pass out now. If he can maintain his grip just a little bit longer...

Siwang struggles to get out of his old master's hold, dragging the old dragon around like a ragdoll. He weakly scratches at him, but the grip remains. He tries smacking him with his tail, even jabbing him with the spikes. Still holding. He moves closer to the temple and tries to bash Banshui's head into the wall, but he's too weak to cause significant damage. But then the entire wall of the temple falls apart and hits them both in the head. One large chunk of wall hits Banshiu on the side of his head, breaking his jaw and releasing his grip. Siwang escapes before he can be buried in the debris.

Siwang pants loudly, heavily weakened by this battle as he stares at the unmoving body of the Royal Dragon, his head buried beneath the rubble. He chuckles to himself in his victory. He finally killed the strongest of all the Dragon Guardians. He finally killed all of the Guardians. Now no one could stop him from destroying all those who had despised him for so long. The world would fear his incredible power. But to ensure his plan carries out, he still needs that Shadow Orb. He can feel it somewhere in this city, or at least somewhere nearby. He starts walking away before hearing the sound of rocks shifting. He looks back.

Banshui slowly pulls his head out from underneath the rocks, groaning in pain as he lays his head down on top of them. Both of his horns are broken off, the tip of one of them sunk into his neck. Blood pours out of every wound on his head. He lays there, droopy eyes looking at Siwang, labored breathing leaving his mouth, which hangs open from the break of his jaw.

Siwang turns to face him. "Looks like you were wrong, old man. One of us will indeed leave alive, but it won't be you." He kicks dirt at him. The dirt didn't even make half the distance. Siwang snorts at him before turning back around to leave.

"You still won't win," Banshui weakly whispers, barely understandable. "This era of dragons will come to an end." The old dragon closes his eyes. "That's just how it's meant to be. How it was always meant to be."

"How do you suppose that? I killed every Dragon Guardian that has remained. There are no more dragons left who could defeat me. But I'm going to change this world. I will find the Shadow Orb. And with it, I will bring back the dragons, and we will put an end to this pathetic civilization. This world will be one in which dragons will forever continue to thrive. Anything else... is merely dinner."

Siwang walks away before he's interrupted by Banshui.

"It's over, Siwang." Siwang stands still, not turning around, not looking back. Banshui continues. "You will lose. It is... inevitable." All is quiet, aside from the labored breathing from the dying dragon.

Siwang flies towards the nearby mountains.


	20. The Dragon Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a while. I was procrastinating again. But not only that. I was also working on another more original story that I've had in my head for a couple of years. I had hoped that I could post that story on this site, but based on the guidelines I read, I have concluded that posting it might not be a good idea, even though "Original Work" is a tag on this site, so it's kinda giving me mixed messages on what's allowed to be posted as "Original Works".

"Dad?"

Banshui opens his eyes to see Po standing next to him, and behind him, Shifu and four of the Furious Five. The old dragon groans as he adjusts the position of his head for a better view of everyone.

"Wh--" He tries to unscramble his brain. "What was your name again?"

Po stands there for a few seconds, witnessing the state his dad is currently in. "It's... Po."

Banshui chuckles lightly. Then he whispers, "That's a good name. We called you... Yu."

Po waits a few seconds. "You called me... what?"

"Yu."

"Yeah, me. What did you call me?"

Banshui shakes his head slowly. "No, no, we called you Yu."

"Me?" Po points to himself.

"No, Yu."

Po turns to Shifu, shrugging with the most confused look on his face. Shifu just facepalms, shaking his head in slight embarrassment.

"It doesn't matter, son. Your name is whatever you've already accepted for yourself. Po." Banshui turns his head away and looks at the ground.

"So all this time, you were... you know."

Banshui avoids eye contact. "Yes. I'm sorry, Po, for not finding you a long time ago. I thought that you were dead along with your mother. I am still connected to the Dragon Guardians, even when they're dead. They had made contact with me... and told me about you." He smiles. "I was so overjoyed. My son, now one of the most powerful Kung Fu masters in China. I'm very proud of you."

Po smiles back. "Yeah... thanks. Honestly, there have been times when I felt... confused about myself. Conflicted. Like, I didn't know who I was. But I found out what happened with Shen at the village. I felt more... at peace, you know?" His tone suddenly changed. "But then, 20 years after that incident, I find out that my dad is actually a dragon, and I'm all confused again."

Banshui chuckles again. "Don't worry, Po." He turns his head to face him. "When Siwang abused his power over the mortals, we had to seal away his power in the Dragon Scroll. Then I banished him to the mortal world, where he remained for over 100 years. The rest of the guardians, myself included, sealed our power away too, taking the forms of mortals to hide from Siwang. We lived our lives just as you do; working jobs, forming relationships, and having families. But recently, I foresaw Siwang's return and left my home to find him, and stop him. I'm sorry you got mixed up in all of this."

Po nods. "It's fine. It's not like anyone died by my hands when I was being controlled."

"I thought I could defeat him, but with my illness, it seems I was wrong. Now he's looking for the Shadow Orb and when he does, all hope will be lost. That's why there is something I know about you that he doesn't." Po looks around to confirm his dad is talking about him. "Po, you are the only one who can stop Siwang."

"What? Me?!' Po shakes his head. "But I can't fight that guy. I'd just get bounced around like a ball. Besides, the power of his that I had, he already took away from me."

"That's true. But I contain a power that no other dragon can use to its full potential. Something for which only you have the capacity. The Dragon Orb."

"Dragon Orb?" Po asks, scratching his head.

"Yes. Our power cannot just disappear, Po. It must be transferred either to a container or someone else. The Dragon Orb contains the dragon power of the five Dragon Guardians. I cannot use all that power. You are the only one who can."

"But why me?"

"Because son, you are not some regular panda. You are Wangzi, the Dragon Prince."

Everything goes silent. Not even a breath is heard. Everyone keeps awkwardly looking at each other in shock. Po finally breaks the silence.

"Say what now?"

Banshui, getting weaker and weaker, lays his head back on its side. "I understand your confusion, Po. When dragons have offspring, even former dragons, they can gain certain attributes, such as our strength and agility. but since you are _my_ son. You are destined for so more than just that. You are meant to be the most powerful of all the Dragon Guardians."

"So... does that mean that... I'm a dragon?"

"Technically. But I'm afraid that this is the end of the Dragon Era. Once you defeat Siwang, the Dragon Orb's power will fade as well. For this is what is meant to be."

  


Siwang walks through the dark caves of the mountains just outside the city. This was the only place he hadn't bothered to look yet. He would have searched here many years ago, had he not also had a city to manage. But now he is here, and he is certain that the Orb is here. He can feel its energy as he moves further within the dark caves. He keeps his head low just in case the ceiling further ahead gets lower.

He can soon hear a sound in the distance like a burning fuse crackling. It gets louder as he walks further inside. There is a tighter space he has to squeeze through. His wings close tightly against his body as he moves his head through the gap. He groans in pain as he tries to squeeze his chest through. Once his chest makes it through, the rest of him slinks in easily. He continues walking until he turns a corner.

There it is. The Shadow Orb. He finally found it. The Orb glows as it emanates its dark energy. With this, he will bring back all the dragons who had been wrongfully murdered by those insignificant lowlifes who infest this world with their arrogance. Dragons would be superior once again, and this time, they won't play nice.

  


Then the earth starts to shake. Everyone holds onto the dragon to keep their balance. Banshui slowly lifts his head slightly, fully knowing what is happening.

"What's going on?!" Po shouts.

"He has found the Shadow Orb!"

Then a mountain in the distance erupts into pieces as a glowing figure bursts through the top of it. Siwang flies closer to the city. All the wounds he suffered in his fight with Banshui have disappeared. His once white scales now give a dark glow. His voice echoes through the air.

"Now that I have unlimited power, it is time for me to undo what has been done to us for centuries! Prepare yourselves for the return of the dragons!"

Dark storm clouds gather above, leaving no piece of land uncovered. Rain pours down hard like a waterfall. Lightning strikes the ground below, creating a large crack in the ground. Out of it crawls a dragon, glowing with the same dark aura as Siwang. It flies into the air, hovering next to Siwang. Then other dragons fly in from multiple directions and hover next to him.

Po and his friends stare up in horror.

"Po!" Banshui yells, causing him to cough. He lays his head back down, breathing becoming more difficult.

"Now, my friends!" Siwang announces to the group of dragons. "Do what you wish! Show no mercy!"

Then the dragons all fly in different directions, roaring furiously. Siwang cackles at his success. He had finally won. There was nothing anyone could do to stop him. He was invincible.

"Po," Banshui says quietly. Po steps closer. "Po, are you still there?" The dragon is unable to open his eyes.

"Yes." Po places a hand on the side of his dad's face. "I'm here."

"It's time... for you to... take the Dragon Orb. Use its power. Destroy... Siwang." His breathing slows.

"Dad," Po whispers, his eyes welling up with tears.

"I'm sorry... this had to happen. I failed. But you can... make it right again." After a lengthy pause, he speaks again. "I love you, son."

Po doesn't know how to respond. With the shock of everything happening, and all these secrets just now being known, he's still processing all of this. But his dad's words ring in his ears again, and his heart begins to ache. Tears pour down his face as he chokes on his words. "I love you too."

His dad's slow breathing continues, followed shortly after by a heavy exhale. He goes silent. The Furious Five members slowly approach Po as he stares at the dead dragon in front of him, a barrage of tears continuing to roll down his cheeks. His friends lay their hands on his arms and shoulders in comfort. As the rain continues to fall, parts of the dragon seem to fade away, as though the rain was erasing him from existence. When he is gone, all that is left behind is a glowing yellow ball. The Dragon Orb. Po stares at it, unmoving. This was what he needs, but he is almost afraid to go near it.

"Take it, Po." The panda looks down to see Shifu standing next to him. The red panda looks at the Orb. "As the Dragon Warrior, the Dragon _Prince_ , it is your duty."

Po can barely hear the roars of Siwang over the rain. He looks behind him as the evil dragon glides above the city, setting buildings on fire, searching for the residents, who have already been evacuated. He flies higher, looking around.

Something in Po snaps. Shifu is right. Siwang means to kill everyone. If he finds them, he will not hesitate. It is not right for Po to hold back on taking the Dragon Orb. If he doesn't do it, it's not just the Jade City residents whose lives will be taken, but millions of others too. It is time for the awakening of Wangzi.

He takes a deep breath, wipes the tears from his eyes, and steps up to the Orb. The object seems to fit perfectly in his hand as his fingers close around it. Then it glows even brighter, as Po feels it's energy penetrate him. An explosion of light carries for miles, knocking all dragons off their course. All roaring fires suddenly become extinguished. Siwang stands up, staring in awe at the source of the explosion. A larger dragon with golden scales that shine like the sun. Shiny silver horns adorn his head. Large wings cause the air to swirl like a tornado.

"What--" Siwang stares unbelievingly. "What is this?!"

He attempts to charge the dragon but gets smacked in the head by his opponent, sending him crashing into the ground below, forming a Siwang-shaped hole in the ground. He slowly crawls out of it.

"Whoa," Wangzi says examining his body. "This is so cool!"

"Dragon Warrior?!" Siwang flies into the air again. "You--"

"I know, right? I didn't expect this at all." Wangzi trails his fingers along with his horns.

"How?!" Siwang screams harshly.

"I dunno, dragon power, I guess?"

Po then inhales and from his mouth comes a powerful beam of energy, sending Siwang crashing into the city wall, burying him in the rubble. His dark aura disappears in the attack, leaving him vulnerable. He pushes his way out of the rocks, wounded once again.

"You can't do this to me! I brought our kind back!"

"Not with the best intentions, though, right?"

Siwang Spreads his wings and flies away in an attempt to escape his coming fate. Po flies higher above the city and closes his eyes.

"As cool as this was, if this must be the end of all dragons, then so be it."

He begins to glow brighter as he tries to concentrate on channeling his power towards one goal: bringing an end to the dragon threat and saving the world. He doesn't really know how to channel his energy, though, but thinking hard about his goal seems to be working well enough so far. Then another explosion of light occurs, spreading the light around the country.

Siwang stops to look back as a surge of energy heads right for him. As it collides with his body, his toes on all limbs disappear, followed by his feet, then his legs.

"No. No!" This can't be happening, he was so close. This is supposed to be _his_ victory. How could he lose? "Nooooo--" The dragon fully disappears.

The light continues to destroy the remaining dragons around China. Then everything becomes silent.

Shifu and his students look around. The clouds are gone, and the sky is back to its normal blue color. There is no more roaring, just silence. Peace. Po had done it. He got rid of all the dragons and brought peace to China yet again.

They find Po lying on the ground, this time as a panda. Shifu rushes towards him.

"Po!" He grabs Po's arm.

The unconscious panda flinches in response. Shifu sighs in relief. Po is still alive. That was the most incredible thing Shifu had ever experienced in his life. Shifu had never been told about Wangzi before. It was an amazing experience to see what happened up close like that. But Po did it. Shifu relishes at this beautiful moment. Po did it. He did it.

He won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The way Banshui disappears was inspired by the way Oogway disappeared as the cherry blossoms flew away. That's kinda what I was going for. Like the Dragon Guardians are connected to all the elements of the world.


	21. The Story of the Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally nearing the end of the story. It sure is taking a while, though. But I've been more focused on my secret project lately.
> 
> This chapter almost didn't happen, because I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. But I'm pretty proud of what I've done for this chapter.

"Where am I?"

Po looks around. All he finds is... nothing. Literally. All he can see is green in every direction.

"Hello?" He calls out.

"Hello, brave Dragon Warrior."

Po turns around to see the source of the unfamiliar voice. It is a purple dragon. The creature bends down smiling at Po.

"Welcome to the Spirit Realm."

"Spirit Realm? Wait, so I'm... dead?"

The dragon chuckles. "Well, a dragon can never truly be dead."

Po stares up at him confused.

"Death to us is nothing more than our spirits leaving the body."

"So I'm a spirit, then?"

"Well, I didn't say that."

"So... am I alive then?"

"Of course."

Po isn't sure who this dragon is, nor why he is in the Spirit Realm if he's not dead. But he sure is having a hard time working around this dragon's strange way with words. It almost reminded him of someone. Looking into the dragon's eyes, there is something strangely familiar about them, but he can't quite place it.

"Who are you, exactly?"

The dragon shine's bright as his form shrinks down to something closer to Po's size. As the light fades, he appears in the form of someone Po is all too familiar with. The panda stares, eye wide open and jaw hanging.

"Master Oogway."

"Indeed," The old tortoise confirms.

Then 4 other people appear out of thin air, his dad; a tiger; a pig; and a goat; and stand beside Oogway, greeting Po with a heartfelt smile. The pig is the only one he doesn't recognize. The tiger looks weirdly similar to Tigress, and the old goat was without a doubt Shen's soothsayer. Po points at her.

"You-- aren't you--"

The old goat nods. "I am."

"But... what happened? Are you dead too?"

She sadly nods. "I was hunted down and murdered by Siwang after you brought peace to Gongmen City. But I must say, Wangzi, that while it was an honor to have assisted you in your troubling times, it was an honor still to have you return the favor. And for that, we thank you greatly."

"Um, sure no problem. I'm always glad to help. But I just want to confirm something. I am still alive, right?"

The tiger chuckles. "Yes, you are. We simply brought you here on a more subconscious level."

"Oh, so it's kinda like a dream then."

"That's a good way to put it."

Po points to everyone. "So all of you are Dragon Guardians then?"

Everyone nods.

"What about Siwang? He was a guardian too, wasn't he?"

They nod again as his dad steps up to Po. "You are not familiar with our story?" Po responds with a slight rotation of his hand, indicating a 50/50 knowledge of the story. "I see. Well, since you are a dragon yourself, I think it's only right that you know. You see, my son, for thousands of years, we have been the guardians of the land. The mortals used to serve us by bringing us offerings. We didn't need it, but we accepted. We were worshipped and loved by all until one day, a boar wished to offer a sacrifice. He brought a goat to our temple and killed him. This we were not willing to accept. We became angry and sent dragons out to vanquish those in the world who would do the same.

"This caused those who were innocent to fear us, thinking we were going to punish the world. And so many of them created weapons powerful enough to kill dragons. The sought our kind out and slew every one of them. We felt nothing but guilt at our own doing. We didn't blame the innocents for the killings, but ourselves for sending out dragons with little clarification to our intentions. After a thousand more years of defiance and desecration to our temple, I had concluded that we were no longer welcome among the morals, and we never would be. It was time for us to disappear and let life run its course. We had initially planned to rid ourselves of our power and live as those beneath us. We would have flaws, weaknesses, and life spans. But there was one who disagreed with our plan: Shenghuo, the Dragon of Life, the one who created all forms of it from plantlife to the very dragons themselves.

"All of this killing sent Shenghuo on a rampage. He wanted to take revenge on those who mercilessly slaughtered the dragons he had created. Shenghuo was the one who had brought all life to this world and felt it was only appropriate that he be the one to bring an end to it. But we knew it was wrong of him to do this. We tried to talk to him, but it was too late. After burning an entire city, he had lost all goodness inside of him. His scales went from green to the color of death itself. Shenghuo had become Siwang. It pained us immensely to see the young dragon who greatly rejoiced in the creation of life strive to bring an end to it, and even worse, find enjoyment in it. We knew our old friend was forever gone.

"Then we did what we had to if we were to stop him: we followed through with our plan. We confronted him and Oogway sealed his power away into the form of a scroll, the Dragon Scroll you are surely familiar with. The rest of us were unsure why he did that, but if you already knew him, you may have realized his particular way of speaking. But he warned us of a future where Siwang would regain his power. But we had no way of knowing when that would happen, or that you would have anything to do with that. So anyway, after sealing his power away, we did the same to ours. We lived as mortals. We grew old, although we did age a bit slower than other mortals. But anyway, I'm getting off track.

"Siwang was never aware of the Dragon Orb that was used to conceal our power. So we were all in agreement that it was to remain hidden in my possession. Then we come to recent events. When I was meditating, Oogway shared a vision with me from the Spirit Realm of Siwangs near return. I knew I had to get to the Jade City, either to defeat Siwang myself, if I could, or bring the Dragon Orb to the one who could defeat him if I couldn't. I should have given it to you first. But I didn't want you involved in all this, especially since you were so ill-prepared with the knowledge you lacked.

"But now the deed is done. You have defeated Siwang and the dragons, and we can finally rest in peace, even our old friend." Banshui looks behind Po. Po turns around to see a sight he had not expected to see.

The old snow leopard stands several meters away from Po. This time, the expression on his face is not one of hatred or anger, but one of fear and regret. His gaze aims towards the ground as he stands there, hesitant to take a step forwards towards those who he betrayed, those who used to be his friends.

"Siwang?" Po says quietly.

The leopard's expression changes as he looks up at Po. He looks hurt at the mention of the name. He slowly walks closer to Po and drops down on his knees, laying facedown, and shouting his pleas through harsh sobs.

"Forgive me, Masters! I have wronged you! I have wronged everybody! I have no excuse for the grievous mistakes I have made! For all the things I have done, I am willing to accept any punishment you place upon me! Send me into oblivion, if you must! Just know that I'm so sorry for everything!"

He remains facedown, his body convulsing with uncontrollable sobs of despair. Po and the Guardians look down at him with pity. Banshui steps closer, walking past Po. He stops inches away from the wailing man and looks at him solemnly.

"Shenghuo." The leopard looks up at him, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Your actions in the past have been nothing short of unforgivable. You have murdered countless innocent people who merely misunderstood our actions. The consequences for your actions is death, and lo and behold, death has been brought upon you. And here you fall before us, pleading for forgiveness. Do you think that would be an easy thing to do after all that has transpired? You used to find so much joy in creating the many unique forms of life, like a child building a tower with simple wooden blocks. But you turned your back on those you have created and slaughtered them, like a failed artist destroying his work. You have failed your creations, Shenghuo."

The leopard's head slowly falls back down to the ground, if it could be called that. Banshui's expression softens up and he speaks in a softer tone.

"But that's all in the past now. The dragons are gone, and life will continue as the mortals see fit. There is nothing more we can do but guide those mortals who would still see use as worthy advisors, but we will do it from here. And Shenghuo..." Shenghuo looks back up at his master. "I would like you to join us."

Shenghuo looks surprised and confused. "But--" He stops himself, sitting up, still on his knees. "I don't understand. After everything I've done--"

Banshui kneels and places a hand on the leopard's shoulder. "There are those who have done wrong, that in the Spirit Realm, can be redeemed. You are no exception to that, my old friend. Your feelings towards the mortals are understandable. But sometimes, you just have to know when to move on. I think now would be that time." Banshui stands up, giving his old friend a gentle smile. He extends his hands towards him. "Please, join us. Let us learn to be friends again, as we once were. Let us continue to watch over all you have created. Together."

Shenghuo stares at his hand, contemplating on his master's words. If he can be forgiven, then perhaps he is still worthy to be one of the Dragon Guardians. Hesitantly, he grabs the panda's hand and is pulled up onto his feet. Again, he looks at his master to see the most joyful grin he had seen in thousands of years. He feels a small smile crack on his face. Banshui steps back until he is next to Po, who shares a similar smile. Shenghuo's smile grows wider at the sight of the glowing faces of his former friends. Only now, they are no longer his former friends, for their friendship, after over a hundred years has been rekindled. He leans forwards in an enthusiastic bow.

"Thank you, Masters. Nothing would make me happier than to be a part of this circle once again."

He stands up, only to be greeted by a giant bear hug from Banshui. Everyone else joins in, forming a group hug. When they break from the embrace, Banshui turns to his son. "Thank you, Wangzi, or Po, rather. Don't feel obligated to keep your 'dragon' name. You have done a great deal for all of us. You defeated Siwang and brought back our old friend. We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I was glad to help. I can certainly say I learned a lot from this experience."

"And I hope you will continue to learn much more in your adventures."

"I just have one question. Am I just gonna be powerless now? With all that power I had gone?"

"Not entirely. You and Tigress should still have the strength of our kind that you were born with."

"Tigress?" Po looks at the tiger. She smiles and nods.

"Please continue to look after my daughter, Master Po, and the rest of your friends." She bows to him.

"Don't worry, I promise. We are a great team, after all."

"I do not doubt that."

Banshui walks towards Po. "I think it's about time for you to wake up. If you ever need to consult us, you can connect to the Spirit Realm through meditation. We have a lot of free time, as you can imagine, so there will always be someone here to answer."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Po pulls his dad in for one final hug. He felt much comfort in the fact that his dad would still be alive. Technically. In a somewhat spiritual way, but he would always be around. They finally break from the hug and Po steps back, giving a nod, ready to go back to the waking world.

"Goodbye, son."


	22. A Job Well Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I greatly apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I've still been working on my "original fiction" story, or at least, creating the universe before I do the story part.

Po opens his eyes.

He looks around. He appears to be inside a house. It doesn't look familiar though. The room is cluttered with objects he's never known to have. As he looks around, he sees, at the foot of a bed, is a small bunny.

The bunny turns around and runs out of the room. "Mommy! Mommy! He's awake!"

Po is confused. How did he even get here? He tries to remember what happened before he blacked out. He could recall a dragon. He remembers him as Siwang. That made it easier to remember the rest. He became a dragon and beat the crap out of Siwang and the other dragons. Perhaps the others brought him here. But to a stranger's house? Considering the state of the temple, as well as many other houses in the city, it's not entirely unbelievable that they'd find a place for Po to rest, no matter where it is. He looks out the window. There is very little sunlight left outside. He can't quite tell which way is east or west from this vantage point, but he assumes it's around dusk.

A larger rabbit walks into the room. She is carrying a bowl of soup in her hands. "Good evening, Dragon Warrior."

"Hey," Po responds. At least the time of day is now confirmed.

"I'm sure you might be feeling a little confused. After your battle with Siwang, your friends asked for a place for you to rest, so I offered my home. Although, I probably should have reinforced the bed frame."

Po looks over the edge of the bed to see pieces of broken wood surrounding the bed. She had not anticipated his weight. He chuckles nervously.

"Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's alright." She puts the bowl on the nightstand next to him. "I just can't believe what happened. I mean, Siwang caught sight of us and was about to kill us until he just disappeared. Is he gone for good?"

Po grabs the bowl. "Yeah. I mean, that was... me that did that." He starts slurping up some noodles.

"Was it? Huh. I don't know how you managed, but we sure are lucky that you came along."

"I guess some might call me a good luck charm because I have kicked quite a few butts these past few years that I've been with Master Shifu." Po drinks some soup. "This is really good soup, by the way."

"Aw, thank you."

"And that's saying a lot because I know a thing or two about cooking."

"Well, that's nice to hear." She watches as Po just stares into the bowl with a thoughtful look. "Is something wrong?"

"Naw, just--" Po leans back and stares at the ceiling. "Have you ever learned something about yourself that you didn't expect? Like who you really are is completely different--and I'm talking _outrageously_ different--from who you've always known yourself to be?"

The bunny lady just gives him a weird look. Po realizes that his question may have sounded odd, but it was a legit question, word for word. She finally answers.

"I can't say that I have. But it sounds confusing."

"It is. I still can hardly believe it. It's like, the kind of thing that no one would believe if I told them."

"Are you wanting to talk about it?"

Po thinks about this for a short while but decides against it. "No. If you weren't there to see it, I think I'd prefer to keep it between me and those who did. I mean, it is kinda personal." Po looks out the window. "Where are my friends?"

"Talking with the council. I can take you to the temple when you're done eating."

  


"Are you sure you want to turn down the position, Master Shifu?" an old boar asks.

Shifu nods. "I am. As honored as I am to be given such an opportunity, I would like to remain with my students for a while longer."

The boar is about to speak, but holds his tongue, not wanting to push further. He looks to the other councilmen. "Then I guess we'll have to determine who will be next in command. We never agreed on who would be next in charge when Master Kahn dies." The councilmen look at the ground, a hint of sadness in their faces.

Shifu sighs. "My students still have much to learn, especially the Dragon Warrior. But I assure you, the next step in his training will be teaching."

The boar interrupts. "Well, if you think that in the future he will be ready for that responsibility, we will be sure to leave a spot in the council open for you, if you change your mind."

"I wouldn't hold my breath on how long that will take."

"I won't, Shifu." He and Shifu bow to each other before the councilmen carry the covered body of Master Kahn away on a stretcher.

"Master!"

Shifu's ears perk at the voice behind him. He turns around to see Po walking towards him.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, Po. Although, I should be asking you that question."

"Oh, still kinda wrapping my head around this whole 'me being the dragon prince' thing."

"I see. I'm still in that stage too, if I'm being completely honest."

He and Po both have a chuckle. After a few seconds of silence, Po speaks.

"Are the others alright?" Then something snaps in his mind. "Tigress! What about Tigress?! Is she okay?!"

"She's fine, Po. Everyone's fine."

Po sighs with relief at the good news.

"But I'm afraid Master Kahn wasn't so lucky."

"Oh? What happened?"

Shifu looks down, ears drooping. "He was crushed by Siwang, succumbed to his injuries."

Po's expression drops as he looks down too. "Oh."

They both remain silent. Po hadn't expected a flawless victory. Surely some lives would be taken, as surprisingly fortunate as it was that no civilians were lost to Siwang's attack, he still felt remorseful that he couldn't have prevented the single loss that did happen. Shifu finally breaks the silence.

"Come, Po. Let's go see the others."

They both start heading towards one of the nearby houses. But Po quickly stops.

"Wait a minute, Master. There's something I forgot about. I'll be right back."

  


Po and Shifu enter the home in which Tigress has been healed. The panda braces himself from a hug attack by his friends. Everyone cheers as they knock the Dragon Warrior to the flat on his back. Some tears are shed, but the joy expressed brings a warm feeling in Po's chest, as he retaliates with a big squeeze of his arms and a glowing smile.

Then Po gets up to see Tigress laying in a bed looking back at him, sharing a heartfelt grin. Po walks towards her, and she reaches her hand out to him. He takes it, giving her an affirming nod of victory over Siwang. Tigress then pulls Po's hand, sitting herself up in the process. Her arms wrap around his large body, as her head rested just below his shoulder.

"Good work, Po." She separates herself from him, flinching in pain as she lays herself back down. "I will be honest, I never would have thought that you would be the Dragon Prince."

Po chuckles, scratching his neck. "Yeah, same here. It was cool though, being a dragon. It feels weird to have wings, though. Heh."

"More and more, you are proving yourself worthy of the Dragon Warrior title. I could not be more proud to work alongside you."

Po's smile widens. The following silence gets broken by the voice of Master Shifu.

"Well, I think it's about time we call it a night. It _has_ been a long day; You could use the rest. We will leave as soon as Tigress is ready to travel."

"Goodnight, guys," Po says with a wave.

Everyone else waves back and wishes Tigress to get well soon. Po stares at the empty doorway while the room fills with silence. Tigress looks up at the ceiling, her face looking slightly sad.

"Po..."

The panda looks at her curiously.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. What I said was uncalled for."

"Don't worry about it, Tigress. After what you had seen, I can't say I blame you."

"But I still should have never spoken to you in that tone. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, honestly. Oh, I just remembered!" He walks towards the entrance and picks up a sack from the floor. "I hope nothing broke after those guys jumped on me. But I went back and grabbed this for you."

Tigress's eyes go wide as Po hands the item to her. She unties it and pulls out the picture. The imagery is still in perfect condition. The only damage done was the chipped bark. She smiles and lays the portrait down on her chest.

"Thank you, Po."

"That's your mother, isn't it?"

Tigress looks back at him. His expression is not what she expected. He did not ask that question in confusion or disbelief. It is as if he knew. She nods in reply. "Yes."

Po's head slightly nods. Tigress lifts the image again. She softly whispers, "She's so beautiful."

"Yeah, she is. It's a shame what happened to her."

Tigress looks at Po confused.

"What?" The panda shrugged. "If you forgot, I was there when Siwang mentioned her to you. Even under his control, I was very aware of everything that was happening."

"Hmm," Tigress hums with a nod. She looks back at the portrait.

"I also did meet her."

Her head turns swiftly, a look of shock on her face. "What? How?"

"After defeating Siwang, I was apparently brought to the Spirit Realm subconsciously. I met all the Dragon Guardians there."

"Did you ever find out her true name?" Tigress had a somewhat desperate look in her eyes as she asked. Po shook his head.

"Sorry, I never really thought to ask. I never asked any of them, honestly. Or my dad simply forgot to introduce them."

Tigress's eyes fill with saddened disappointment.

"Sorry, Tigress."

She gives Po a small smile. "It's okay, Po. I did find out at least one name. I just wish I was able to read more of her note, so I could know more about her."

Po notices the tears welling up in her eyes. He places his hand on hers. "There is one thing I can tell you about her. She is proud of you. She's proud of us, all of us, for the deeds we have done for China."

Tears roll down Tigress's face. She rotates her hand to hold onto Po's. She places the picture down with her other hand to wipe away the tears. She inhales, then exhales. She looks at the panda and smiles again.

"Thank you, Po." Her grip tightens a little bit as she raises her hand. "Let's not let her down."

"Of course," Po says, tightening his grip as well. He gives her a confident look, soon matched by her own. "Why would we?"

  


"I want to thank you, masters, for your generous hospitality," Shifu tells the council members with a bow.

"And thank you, Master Shifu, for bringing your students, and bringing an end to Siwang's evildoings," the boar replies.

It has been several days since the evil dragon's defeat. Since then, Tigress has been healing well, and there was even a big celebration for Po's act of heroism. There was a huge firework display, with an equally huge buffet, filled with all sorts of foods for the panda to stuff his face with. Po had also spent a fair amount of time with Tigress, sharing stories from his dad about the Dragon Guardians and the fall of Shenghuo. Tigress took in every word, gaining a better understanding of the Dragon Guardians' story that was not as well conveyed by Master Shifu.

Today, Tigress's travel with her friends has been greenlighted, and all their gear and belongings have been packed. Po remains by Tigress's side, just in case the walk back becomes difficult for her. But she shows a great deal of confidence in her strength. But it still wouldn't hurt, though.

"I wish you a safe travel home." The councilmen all bow in unison, as do Shifu and company before they turn and leave.

As they walk past the city gates, Shifu steps up the pace to catch the Dragon Warrior.

"Po!"

Po looks down at his master beside him. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Your efforts on our mission has been nothing short of extraordinary. I think, when we get back to the palace, we ought to do something in celebration for your display of heroism."

"Aw, you don't have to do that. Seriously. I mean, defending china and kicking many a villainous butt is what we're all about. Besides, we already had a big celebration this week."

"I know, Po. But after everything that has transpired here, especially with how you saved the world, I think we should do something for you at the Valley of Peace."

"Well, I suppose, if you insist. I was thinking..."

"Fireworks," Shifu and Po both said at the same time. "Again," Po adds.

"I can take out some fireworks from the storeroom, and set them off for the Valley to see, so they will know once again how you risked all for the good of everyone."

"Yeah, I guess that sounds good."

"I'm sure you're looking forward to emptying another table," Mantis jokes with a chuckle.

"Don't you know it."

"You deserve it, Po." Tigress pats Po on the shoulder.

"I suppose your dad will be having another sale?" Crane asks. He shakes his head slightly as he corrects himself. "I mean, your adoptive dad, Mr. Ping."

"He's still 'Dad' to me, buddy. Feel free to refer to him as such."

"Okay. I'm sure looking forward to whatever he'll be serving."

"You like his food, huh?" Viper responds. Crane nods.

"Well, whatever gets the message of our awesomeness across, food or otherwise, I'm sure it will be a hit with the villagers. Honestly, I'm just glad that we all do what we do together. I don't know what I would do without you guys around."

Everyone replies with either an 'aw' or an agreement to his statement. This was all it was about for Po. Simply being in the presence of the Furious Five and his master is the most important thing in his heart. He doesn't need any celebration to know just how great they all are. He had admired them his entire life. And he already feels a closer bond to them after this recent experience. He wishes that they would continue to work together on their adventures.

He lifts Shifu off the ground, catching him off guard. He can't get out of his grasp now. He reaches his other arm over Tigress's shoulders and squeezes both masters in a hug.

"I love you guys."


End file.
